A key service that promotes shared civic responsibility and helps make Barcelona a more welcoming, safe and orderly city for both residents and visitors
Over the past decade, the unit has carried out more than 6 million interventions, proving its value in exceptional situations such as the pandemic—when it supported vaccination centres—and the special operations rolled out as part of the Pla Endreça
This April marks ten years since the launch of BSM’s Civic Officers Unit, a service created by Ajuntament de Barcelona to improve social harmony and promote civic behaviour in the city’s public spaces.
The unit was originally created in 2015 to help ensure harmonious coexistence in areas affected by tourism pressures, but a decade later, these professionals have become key players in upholding civic behaviour in the Catalan capital. Today, their interventions are essential to making Barcelona a more welcoming, safe and orderly city for both residents and visitors.
A model based on education and shared civic responsibility
The Civic Officers, who work in coordination with the Guàrdia Urbana and the Ajuntament, always take an educational, approachable stance, focusing on dialogue, raising awareness and fostering a sense of civic responsibility and shared ownership among the public. To achieve this, their protocol is to clearly inform people about the rules of coexistence, ask for a change in behaviour in the event of non-compliance and issue a warning about the possibility of intervention by the Guàrdia Urbana.
According to figures from 2024, during which the Civic Officers carried out more than 330,000 interventions in public spaces, the most common uncivil behaviours addressed by the unit included crossing outside designated pedestrian crossings, obstructing cycle lanes, riding bicycles and personal mobility vehicles on the pavement and managing tourist groups. There are also cases involving nudism or near-nudism, unauthorised street vending and other forms of inappropriate use of cycle lanes, among others.
A decade of ongoing service and presence at key moments in the city
The past ten years have left a clear mark from the work carried out by Civic Officers in Barcelona. With nearly 6.7 million interventions to date, the service has always been there when the city has needed it: on the ground, listening, providing guidance and strengthening social harmony. Venues such as the Sagrada Família, with nearly 1.9 million interventions, or the Citizen Help and Information Offices (OAC), with two million recorded actions, are examples of this constant pace of activity. The 500,000 recorded actions in Barceloneta and the 8,000 in the Trinitat Vella neighbourhood also highlight their versatility and strong local rootedness.
Beyond the figures, the value of this unit has been particularly evident in exceptional situations. During the pandemic, the Civic Officers played a vital role in managing day-to-day life in public spaces by helping to ensure compliance with regulations and supporting mass vaccination campaigns. More recently, with the preparations for and impact of international events such as the 37th America's Cup, the Civic Officers have once again demonstrated their adaptability and commitment to ensuring harmony among residents and visitors. Last summer, the service also joined the special operation linked to the Ajuntament’s Pla Endreça and stepped up its presence at strategic points across the city to promote the proper use of public space, identify poor waste management practices and safeguard harmony in neighbourhoods experiencing the strongest pressure from residents and tourism. This reinforced operation made it possible to address both civic and commercial issues, with particular attention to opening hours and proper waste sorting.
A decade after its launch, the work of the Civic Officers has become firmly entrenched as an essential tool for ensuring respectful coexistence and a more orderly city. Their track record confirms that the Civic Officers are always there whenever the city needs them, with adaptability reinforced by the targeted expansion of the service in exceptional situations. With its sights set on the future, the service will continue to evolve to meet new challenges in public spaces and keep contributing to making Barcelona a more welcoming, civic and sustainable city for everyone.