Ertzaintza Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids People's Guard Ertzaintza
Badge of the Ertzaintza
Flag of the Ertzaintza
Agency overview
Formed	1982
Preceding agency	Ertzaña
Annual budget	US$634.34 million (€570 million) (2015)
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction	Basque Country, Spain
Governing body	Home Office of the Basque Government
Constituting instrument	Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country
General nature	Local civilian police
Operational structure
Headquarters	Erandio (Biscay), Basque Country, Spain
Ertzainas	8,000
Elected officer responsible	Estefanía Beltrán de Heredia, Basque Minister of Security
Agency executive	Gervasio Gabirondo, Director
Divisions	List Citizen Security Criminal Investigations Intelligence
Police Stations	List Vitoria-Gasteiz Llodio/Laudio Laguardia/Guardia Durango Balmaseda Sestao Bilbao/Bilbo Beasain Zumarraga Tolosa Azkoitia Zarautz Hernani Donostia/San Sebastián Errenteria Irun Eibar Bergara Ondarroa Gernika Muskiz
Facilities
Stations	20
Boats	9
Helicopters	2
Notables
Anniversaries	Ertzaintza Day (May 16) Honouring Ertzaintza Victims of Terrorism (June 14)
Website
http://www.ertzaintza.eus

Ertzaintza Headquarters in Vitoria-Gasteiz

The Ertzaintza is the main police force for the Basque Country in Spain. Its name means Public Guard or People's Guard. This police force is special because it's autonomous, meaning it has its own rules and works mostly independently from Spain's national police.

An officer in the Ertzaintza is called an ertzaina. There are about 8,000 ertzainas keeping the peace in the Basque Country. They handle many tasks that national police forces usually do.

History of the Ertzaintza
What does Ertzaintza mean?
Images for kids
See also

History of the Ertzaintza

Early Police Forces

The idea of the Ertzaintza started a long time ago. It began with local groups called militias. These groups were made of regular people who helped keep their towns safe.

In the 1800s, things changed a lot in Spain. There was a lot of fighting and social unrest. This led to more organized police groups being formed. Some of the first were the Miqueletes in Biscay and Guipuzcoa, and the Miñones in Alava.

After a big war called the First Carlist War, the Spanish government wanted to take over these local police jobs. They created the Civil Guard in 1844. But it was hard for them to find enough people in the Basque areas. So, the local Basque police forces continued their work.

Changes After Wars

After another war, the Second Carlist War in 1876, the Spanish government wanted more control. This meant the Basque police forces became smaller and had less power.

In 1931, the Second Spanish Republic was formed. People in the Basque Country wanted their old freedoms back. They started working on plans for their own government.

During the Spanish Civil War, in 1936, the Basque Country got its own government. One of their first goals was to create a new police force.

The Basque Interior Minister, Telesforo Monzón, helped set up this new force. It was called Ertzaña, which means "People care" in Basque. It had about 1,200 officers, some on foot and some in cars.

When the war ended in the Basque Country, the Ertzaña was stopped. The new government, led by Franco, pretended it never existed.

However, the Miñones in Alava continued their work. They helped with traffic and protected local government buildings. This was because Alava had supported Franco's side in the war.

Rebuilding the Police Force

After Spain became a democracy again, the Basque Government was brought back. In 1980, they decided to create a new police force. They used the spirit of the old Ertzaña from 1936. This new force was named Ertzaintza.

Before the Ertzaintza was fully formed, some older Basque police groups were brought back. These included the "Forales" and "Miqueletes" in Biscay and Guipuzcoa, and the "Miñones" in Alava. These groups then joined the new Ertzaintza.

Navarre, another region, became its own autonomous community. Its police force, the Policía Foral, stayed separate from the Ertzaintza.

The first officers of the new Ertzaintza were Basque citizens. This new police force grew steadily from 1982. It slowly took over policing duties, starting in the countryside and then moving into the cities.

An Ertzaintza Seat Altea XL police car

Ertzaintza BMW motorbikes

Ertzainas making an arrest

Ertzaintza 'Beltzak' Mobile Brigade

What does Ertzaintza mean?

The name Ertzaña was first created by a poet named Esteban Urkiaga. It came from two Basque words: eŕi (meaning "people") and zañ (meaning "guard").

Later, when the Basque language was standardized, the name changed slightly. The new name, Ertzaintza, comes from herri (people) and zain (guard). It's like how artzain means "shepherd" (from "sheep" + "guard"). The ending -tza is a common Basque suffix, seen in names like Osakidetza (the Basque health service).

Even though the modern spelling of "people" is herri, the "H" was left out of Ertzaintza. This was done to keep a connection to the older name, Ertzaña.