POLICEMEN IN SPAIN.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XV, Issue XXI, 23 November 1895, Page 635

POLICEMEN IN SPAIN.

The little towns and smaller cities in Spain have a very effective system of night police. These Spanish public watchmen are clad in long black cloaks and wear on their heads a black and red cap. In one hand is a lantern with coloured glass, in the other a kind of lance. ‘ Sereno ’ is the name this policeman goes under, and he gets the title from the cry he is obliged to utter at every step, ‘Sereno,’ which means fine. The phrase refers to the state of the weather. If the weather is cloudy he would call out, ‘ Nublado ’ ; if it is raining, ‘Lluviendo.’ Under the blue sky of Spain, however, it is generally ‘ sereno.’ An extract from the municipal regulations of a Spanish town details tire duties of the sereno in this wise : ‘ He must peform a certain number of rounds in all the streets, lanes, passages, and alleys on his beat, and call out in a loud voice the time and the weather as he goes along. He must lend assistance to citizens who request his help for any reasonable cause and go for the doctor, chemist, midwife, or clergyman. In cases of robbery, assault or fire he must hurry to the scene of the occurrence as soon as he hears the signal. He must pay particular attention to such houses as are pointed out to him and report to his superiors.’ Each ‘ sereno ’ supervises a certain small territory, a ‘ demarcacion,’ as it is called. He has three or four subordinates, who act underhis orders and are known as * vigilants.’ Flach of these fellows has charge of a block of ten or fifteen buildings and besides having police duties he acts as a sort of porter to his houses, carrying the keys to them all and being alone able to open the doors. In the Spanish towns 10 o'clock is the signal for closing and after that time the only way the lodger can get inside his dwelling is to summon the ' vigilant.’ To do this he must clap his hands three times and then the ‘ vigilant ’ hurries up, armed with his bunch of keys. So, also, if any one desires to go out during the night he claps his hands at the window and a ‘ vigilant ’ appears. When a street brawl occurs or an attack is made either ‘ sereno ’ or ‘ vigilant ’ blows his whistle at the first cry of help and chases off in the direction of the sound. Up comes the other officers on the run, all blowing their whistles loudly. If the criminal gets away the whistles are blown in a peculiar manner, signalling in just what direction he has gone. The outer rings of ‘ serenes ' and ‘vigilants’ take up the signal and in a few moments a wide cordon is formed in the surrounding streets, which in nine cases out of ten ends in the evildoer's capture within a few moments.