1978 Police Act Three weeks before the publication of the
Constitution, the Police Act of December 4, 1978 was published. This law was a new stage for public safety in Spain. It structured the State security agencies through the Police and the
Civil Guard. At the same time, the Police consisted of two agencies; the Superior Police Corps, successor to the General Police Corps and distantly from the Surveillance Corps (1852), and by the National Police Corps, direct successor to the Armed and Traffic Police Corps, and indirectly to the Security Corps (1852) and the
Assault Guard (1932). being its first holder José Sainz González. The DGP inherited the organizational structure of the DGS, being integrated by the director-general, the deputy director-general, the Personnel, Economic Management, and Teaching and Improvement Divisions, the General Commissariats of
Information, of
Judicial Police and of Documentation, as well as of the Inspectorate-General of the Police and the entire peripheral police structure.
Organic Act on Security Forces and Corps , former headquarters of the organ and current seat of the
Regional Government of Madrid. The most relevant change to which the DGP has had to adapt has been to the approval of the Organic Act of Security Forces and Corps of March 13, 1986. This law was created «responding fundamentally to the mandate of article 104 of the Constitution», according to which an Organic Act should determine the functions, basic principles of action and statutes of the State Security Forces and Corps. This law meant for the DGP the integration of the Superior Police Corps and the Corps of National Police into the
National Police Corps (CNP). Also that year, the Directorate for State Security was raised to the rank of Secretariat of State and the Directorate-General of the Police was raised to the rank of general secretariat. Likewise, the DGP leaves the building of the
Royal House of the Post Office and establishes its headquarters in the palace of the number 5 of Miguel Ángel Street. In 1987, the State security organs were reformed, and the deputy director-general (
Subdirector general) was renamed as deputy director-general of Operations (
Subdirector General Operativo), the General Commissariat for Public Safety (abolished in 1984) is recovered, and the Inspectorate-General of the Police and some divisions are suppressed and other organs are created with a level of deputy directorate-general. , the only person to hold at the same time the portfolios of Justice and Interior.
Ministry of Justice and Interior In 1994 a new phenomenon occurs, such as the integration of two important departments, that
of Justice and that of the Interior. Through this integration a super-ministry was created with powers in judicial and security affairs. The DGP is renamed as General Secretariat-Directorate-General of Police (since 1986 it had the rank of general secretariat) until 1996, when both
departments separated. It is during this reform when the General Commissariat for Scientific Police is created. In 2000 the Government Delegation for Immigration and Foreigners was created, an organ with which the DGP had to coordinate to exercise its powers in these matters until 2004, when it was abolished and the immigration and foreigners policy passes to the
Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
Single control and current split Between September 2006 and December 2011, the Directorates-General of the Police and
of the Civil Guard were merged by
Prime Minister Zapatero with the purpose of «carry out the tasks of both police forces in a more integral, homogeneous and coordinated way». In 2008, it was known that the Interior Minister,
Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, was not comfortable with this union of command and wanted to split them again, but that wasn't the opinion of the Prime Minister and remained together. In 2009 it was created the University Center of the Civil Guard, integrated in the directorate-general. During this time both agencies maintained their differentiated structure and legal regime, with a different Coordination Office for each body. In addition, the positions of Deputy Directors of Operations (Director Adjunto Operativo, DAO) were created as a technical assistance organ to the director-general. There was one DAO for each law enforcement agency. In July 2017, Minister Zoido abolished the positions of Deputy Directors of Operations, a decision that was reversed by Minister
Fernando Grande-Marlaska in July of the following year. == Organizational structure ==