This month, 33 new officers have been recruited, bringing the total to 118 by summer – up from 66 a year ago – to ensure civic behaviour and harmony throughout the city
Half of all civic officers are now deployed specifically in high-traffic areas (EGAs), an increase made possible through tourism tax revenue
Over the past year, Ajuntament de Barcelona has doubled the number of civic officers tasked with promoting harmony and civic behaviour in public spaces. This expansion focused on high-traffic areas (EGAs), zones designated by the municipal government to protect the city’s neighbourhoods and local businesses and to mitigate the negative impacts of mass tourism. The number of civic officers for the summer will rise from 66 last year to 118 this year, the highest number to date.
This increase follows the recruitment, at the end of March, of 33 new civic officers assigned specifically to the EGAs of Sagrada Família, La Rambla and Turó de la Rovira. Their posts are funded through tourism taxation, representing an investment of approximately €1.5 million. A further 19 civic officers deployed around Park Güell, recruited last summer, have been retained this year under BSM, with an investment of around €1.18 million.
Of the remaining 66 civic officers, around ten were already operating in EGAs, as well as other parts of the city such as Sant Antoni, Barceloneta and Montjuïc. With the current increase, funded through tourist tax revenue, Ajuntament de Barcelona will invest more than €6.5 million in this programme and will allocate half of the civic officers to tourist areas.
Civic officers are tasked with improving people’s quality of life by ensuring civic behaviour and harmony throughout Barcelona. With identifiable uniforms, they work morning and afternoon shifts, including weekends and public holidays. Their role is to inform, summon and, where necessary, issue warnings to anyone, whether residents or visitors, whose public behaviour may disrupt the normal functioning of the city. Where appropriate, they may also refer incidents to the Guàrdia Urbana (GUB), Barcelona’s city police, for a fine to be issued. This increase in staffing also supports enforcement of the new public harmony byelaw, which came into force last February.
Civic officers were established as a permanent unit serving Barcelona in 2015, when municipal company BSM started running the service and its operations on behalf of the City Council. Since then, under BSM’s leadership, the unit has adapted to changing needs and circumstances, consistently meeting the requirements set by the City Council. After a decade of service, civic officers have become a key element in promoting shared civic responsibility and helping to make Barcelona a safer, more liveable and more orderly city.
The staff, who receive specific training before going out onto the streets, not only use an educational approach to correct behaviour but also record their observations throughout the day. Their duties include managing pedestrian traffic, providing general information, ensuring proper waste management and mediating to prevent behaviours such as feeding animals in public spaces or walking dogs off lead. In short, civic officers provide information, prevent incidents and maintain public harmony, focusing on all behaviours that affect the civic and respectful use of public spaces.
By permanently incorporating this role in EGAs specifically, bringing the total to 52 staff in just one year, Barcelona City Council is strengthening its commitment to further improving the management of tourism in the city. This work is funded through tourist tax revenue, reflecting the goal of having visitors take shared responsibility for their use of public spaces and ensuring that city residents benefit from the tourism sector and the revenue it generates. The agreement with the Port de Barcelona to reduce the number of cruise terminals from seven to five, along with the introduction of the new Bus 4.0 zone to regulate tourist coach activity, are also part of this same approach.
