Catalonia reinforces measures to fight terrorism after Paris attacks

Barcelona (CNA).- The terrorist attacks that occurred in Paris last Friday sounded the alarm for many countries neighbouring France. “The bloodshed in Paris is also ours”, stated current President Artur Mas soon after the killing. He also admitted that Catalonia could also be the target of similar acts but assured that “everything which can be done in order to prevent attacks is being carried out”. This Tuesday, current Catalan Minister for Home Affairs Jordi Jané warned that the jihadist threat in Catalonia is "grave" and insisted that the Government is "offering its hand" to all those who want to fight terrorism. Although he called on citizens to "carry on with their normal lives" Jané announced some measures partly due to the terrorist attacks in Paris. In the short term, the controlling of road access to the main Catalan cities is to be reinforced, as is the level of surveillance in public spaces. In the longer term, Jané announced a protocol to "detect in time the Islamic radicalisation phenomenon" at school and "avoid allowing a terrorism that wants to change mind-sets" to spread. 

Reinforced prevention and surveillance

Jané underlined that Catalonia is on alert level 4 of 7 since January, after the attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices. "This means that prevention and surveillance are maximum" he stated. Although the alert level hasn't changes since the latest terrorist attacks in Paris, Jané said that controls have been reinforced and all units of 'Mossos d'Esquadra', the Catalan Police, are ready to respond in the event that they are required. 

Following on from this, Jané highlighted the role of the Catalan Police, whom have carried out 37 investigations and identified more than 1,000 people suspected of being related to terrorism or organised crime. Moreover, they are currently analysing 900 suspicious profiles in the network.

"This terrorism is regardless of borders" stated Jané and assured that the police in Catalonia and in Spain are "absolutely coordinated" on the matter of security.

Detecting Islamic radicalisation at schools

In the longer term, the government has also designed a protocol to "detect in time the Islamic radicalisation phenomenon" at school and "avoid allowing a terrorism that wants to change mind-sets" to spread. The protocol has already been designed and will be launched shortly, after agreement with the education community.The aim is to work closely with teachers and the education community to identify which pupils are more likely to radicalise. "Absenteeism could indicate possible radicalisation" stated Jané.

This protocol is part of the Radicalisation Detection Procedure in the education field, which belongs to the Specific Operative Plan (POE) on anti-terrorist matters. This Plan evaluates how high the threat of terrorist attacks is and promotes their prevention, detects radicalisation phenomena, analyses collectives of potential risk and sets up auto-protection systems. Following this, procedures to detect radicalisation in criminal and education centres are launched.