Castro del Río regulates the use of drones by its Local Police

The City Council of Castro del Río has finalized the Regulations for the use of remotely piloted aircraft by the Local Police Force, after no claims were filed during the public exhibition period. The text, initially approved by the Plenary on May 28, 2026, is published in full in the Official Gazette of the Province of Córdoba on September 22, 2026 (No. 183, pages 13524 to 13543), under reference BOP-A-2026-3188. The regulation authorizes the Local Police to employ drones for surveillance, inspection, emergencies, and citizen security, under strict rules of proportionality and data protection.

The announcement is issued in compliance with Article 70.2 of Law 7/1985, of April 2, regulating the Bases of the Local Regime, and corresponds to file Gex 7995/2025. The document was electronically signed in Castro del Río on September 18, 2026, by the Mayor-President, Julio José Criado Gámiz. The regulation is structured into 34 articles divided into eight chapters, plus three additional provisions, one transitional provision, one repealing provision, and three final provisions.

Surveillance, emergencies, and civil protection

Article 10 establishes the authorized purposes, which must always be linked to the exercise of legal competencies and municipal public services:

• Support for citizen security devices, public order, and preventive surveillance at events or gatherings.
• Search and location of missing persons, accident victims, or those in risk situations.
• Support for civil protection, emergencies, floods, fires, and catastrophes.
• Reconnaissance of areas that are difficult to access or dangerous for intervening personnel.
• Support for traffic management, road closures, and traffic accidents.
• Graphic documentation of accidents, damages, and municipal inspections.
• Preventive surveillance of assets, facilities, roads, and rural areas.
• Collaboration with other Security Forces and Corps and judicial bodies.
• Training, practices, and drills for authorized personnel.

Every mission must be previously authorized by the Chief of the Local Police, the municipal UAS manager, or the competent service command, and documented in writing, except in urgent cases. In emergencies, situations of serious collective risk, or searches for persons, use may be agreed upon immediately, with subsequent documentation.

Prohibitions and limits of use

Article 12 expressly prohibits the use of drones for private, recreational, or profit-making purposes, for the indiscriminate, permanent, or mass surveillance of people, and for capturing images or sounds in homes and spaces with a reasonable expectation of privacy. It also bans flying without authorization from the competent command, in restricted UAS geographical zones without meeting the requirements, under unsafe meteorological or technical conditions, or for harassment and unjustified tracking.

Use is subject to the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality, suitability of the means, operational safety, minimum intrusion into privacy, data minimization, traceability, and control by the competent command. Only agents expressly authorized by the Local Police Headquarters, with the required training and accreditation, may pilot them.

Data protection and municipal control

Chapter VI subjects data processing to Organic Law 7/2021, of May 26, when the purpose is police or public security, and to Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Organic Law 3/2018, of December 5, in other cases. The capturing of images shall also comply with Organic Law 4/1997, of August 4, regarding video cameras used by Security Forces and Corps.

Before the ordinary operation of systems that capture images or personal data, the City Council will assess, with the intervention of the Data Protection Officer, the need for an impact assessment. Recordings will be kept only for the necessary time, and access to them will be limited and recorded. The Headquarters will maintain an internal log of operations including date, purpose, area, pilot, equipment used, and incidents.

Entry into force and deadlines

The regulation will enter into force once its full text is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Córdoba and the period provided for in article 65.2 of Law 7/1985 has elapsed. Within one month of entry into force, the Local Police Headquarters must propose the approval or updating of the necessary internal protocols.

Against the resolution, which ends the administrative route, a motion for reconsideration may be filed within one month or a contentious-administrative appeal within two months, in accordance with Law 39/2015 and Law 29/1998, of July 13.

The regulation makes Castro del Río one of the municipalities in Córdoba with its own detailed framework for the police use of drones, by establishing in writing which uses are permitted, which are prohibited, and how the obtained images must be safeguarded. For residents, the regulation introduces concrete guarantees against the indiscriminate capture of data and opens channels for public information and the exercise of rights through the municipal electronic office.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Córdoba, No. 183 of September 22, 2026, section VI (Local Administration), pp. 13524-13543 (official reference: BOP-A-2026-3188).