Dosrius approves the Local Police weapons use regulations

The City Council of Dosrius has definitively approved the Internal Regulation on the use of weapons and tools for police use in the exercise of their functions by members of the Dosrius Local Police force. The agreement, adopted by the Plenary of the Corporation in an ordinary session on June 25, 2026, is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Barcelona on September 16, 2026 (file 1383/2026, reference CVE 202610138764), with the full text of the regulation.

The text regulates the procedures for agents’ actions regarding the possession and use of issued police weapons and tools, and is based on Law 16/1991, of July 10, on local police, which defines these forces as armed institutes of a civil nature, and on Decree 219/1996, of June 12, which approves the Armament Regulation for local police in Catalonia. The public information announcement was published in the BOPB on July 17, 2026, in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat de Catalunya on July 21, 2026, on the municipal notice board, and on the electronic headquarters, without any claims being filed.

Police equipment and principles of action

The regulation establishes that agents may only use the weapons and tools supplied by the City Council as official equipment, and that none of them replace the others, as they are complementary and allow for progressive or simultaneous use. The equipment of the Dosrius Local Police includes:

• Semi-automatic short firearm, 9 mm caliber, with magazines and ammunition.
• Bulletproof vests and handcuffs with pouch.
• Rigid or semi-rigid police baton made of polymer, elastomer, or polypropylene.
• Telescopic or expandable police baton.
• Conducted energy device (CED).
• Pepper gas pistol and pepper spray.
• Multi-purpose knife.

The use of force is governed by the principles of congruence, opportunity, and proportionality, and situations are classified as low, medium, and high risk. Carrying a private firearm during service is strictly prohibited, and regulation weapons may only be used for service or police training authorized by the Prefecture.

Use of firearms and the CED

Firearms may only be used in the face of a rationally serious risk to the life or physical integrity of the agents or third parties, and provided there are no other less extreme means. The regulation details the scenarios for use, such as imminent armed attack, armed resistance, or self-defense, and prohibits warning shots in the air or on the ground and shots at the wheels of moving vehicles, except in exceptional cases. When a weapon is used, the agent must notify the command room and write a report before ending their shift.

The conducted energy device (CED) is regulated as a tool for transmitting electrical impulses, with a maximum discharge of 5 seconds, and may only be used by agents responsible for the service who have completed the specific course of the Public Security Institute of Catalonia, in accordance with Resolution INT/2789/2018. Its use is prohibited on pregnant women, minors under 12 years of age, elderly persons or those in poor health, at demonstrations, and near flammable substances. Personnel equipped with a CED must have an automated external defibrillator (AED) and a personal recording device (PRD) available.

Training, weapon withdrawal, and disciplinary regime

All members of the force, except those whose weapons have been withdrawn, must mandatorily perform police shooting improvement exercises at least twice a year under the supervision of qualified instructors. The regulation provides grounds for the temporary, precautionary, or definitive withdrawal of the weapon, such as failing psychotechnical reviews, sick leave for temporary disability exceeding thirty days, the consumption of alcohol or prohibited substances, or the loss of career civil servant status. The initial precautionary withdrawal cannot exceed fifteen days.

Failure to comply with the regulation, especially the misuse of weapons, may lead to administrative and, if applicable, criminal liabilities, with reference to the disciplinary regime of Title VI of Law 16/1991. The regulation, signed by Mayor Sílvia Garrido Galera, will enter into force the day after its publication in the BOPB, provided that the period provided for in article 65.2 of Law 7/1985, of April 2, regulating the bases of the local regime, has elapsed.

With this regulation, Dosrius provides its local police with a clear and updated legal framework for the use of force, which reinforces the legal security of the agents and the protection of citizens’ rights in police actions within the municipality of Maresme.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Barcelona, no. September 16, 2026, local administration section, pp. 1-17 (official reference: CVE 202610138764, file 1383/2026).