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Spanish National Police organizes the III Conference on the Protection and Defense of the Historical and Cultural Heritage

Spanish National Police held in Granada the “III Conference on Protection and Defense of Historical Heritage in the National Police” in the privileged environment of the monumental complex of the Alhambra between the 25th and 29th of this month. The opening ceremony was attended by the Deputy Director General for Human Resources and Training, Agustín Alonso-Carriazo López; the director of the Board of the Alhambra and the Generalife, Rocío Díaz Jiménez; the head of the Central UDEV, José Ángel Fernández Morán; the superior chief of Eastern Andalusia, José Miguel Amaya Tébar; and the director of the CAE, Ramón Gómez Nieto, accompanied by the acting provincial commissioner of Granada, Esther Martín Bravo

Wide range of highly specialized speakers

The National Police, with the aim of promoting continuous training and knowledge of the agents involved in the defense of Historical Heritage, is developing the “III Conference on Protection and Defense of Historical Heritage in the National Police” inside the Palace of Carlos V, located within the monumental enclosure of the Alhambra. On this occasion, there are fifty students summoned to receive this specialized training, which will be in charge of a total of 19 highly specialized lecturers from very diverse fields and institutions, all of them counting as a common link their dedication to study and education. protection of the Historical Heritage.

From the police field, the presence of the Chief of the Historical Heritage Brigade, Montserrat de Pedro Esteban, along with other agents belonging to that same brigade and incardinated in the General Police Station of the Judicial Police, as well as speakers from the Police Station General for Citizen Security and INTERPOL. Likewise, representatives of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the Junta de Andalucía, the National Heritage, the Cultural Heritage Institute of Spain, the Autonomous University of Madrid, the Archdiocese of Granada, the Board of the Alhambra, the Museum of Fine Arts of Granada and the Spanish Association of Metal Detection.

Varied theme and multidisciplinary approach

As might be expected, an equivalent number of approaches corresponds to such a diverse set of specialists. The speakers from the police institution will address issues related to the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property, control of antiques buying and selling establishments and auction rooms, collaboration between museums and the National Police, protection in the transfer of works of art, security in monumental complexes or international cooperation in the defense of Historical and Cultural Heritage, in addition to presenting several practical cases of police actions carried out on this matter. 

For their part, several distinguished archaeologists will contribute their knowledge regarding the value of contextualization in archaeological environments or the legislation on Historical Heritage in Andalusia. Other topics to be discussed will be related to the protection of the assets guarded by National Heritage, the conservation and security in the Alhambra, the treatment of the ecclesiastical cultural heritage, the implications of the use of metal detectors in relation to Archeology or the national plan of emergencies and risk management in Cultural Heritage.

Historical Heritage protected by Law

It should be noted that the Historical Heritage of our country, the second in importance at the European level only behind that treasured by Italy, is regulated and protected under Law 16/85 on Spanish Historical Heritage and by RD 111/1986 of partial development of this law. To all this legislation must be added the provisions of the regional laws and the current Penal Code, which clearly includes and throughout several articles within Title XVI and in its Chapter II entitled “Of crimes on Historical Heritage”, punishable conduct, among which is expressly “causing damage to property of historical, artistic, scientific, cultural or monumental value …”, which can even carry prison sentences.