The big headline in the local Spanish press today declares police reinforcements from France and Portugal will be arriving in Benidorm to help back up the local force over the peak summer period. That all sounds great… logistically how it will work is another matter. What language will they speak to each other for instance and obviously they will have no legal authority therefore need to be accompanied by Spanish officers at all times. But read further down and it’s not quite so dramatic – there will in fact only be 2 French officers and 2 Portuguese, dressed in their countries uniform and unsurprisingly, no British bobbies.

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As the issue of security and what are deemed ‘safe resorts’ come to the forefront ahead of the busy holiday season, tour operators are warning that there will be a shortage of sunshine hotspots to places such as Spain, Portugal and Italy in response to terror attacks. Holiday companies have already seen bookings to Spain up by nearly 40% against last year’s figures and as demand rises for limited places, so inevitably will prices. Security here in the resort has been a contentious issue, thankfully not terrorism related, but lack of policing in general around known ‘crime’ hotspots and boisterous party areas.

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