Andorra la Vella deploys plain‑clothes civic agents to tackle public incivility

The Andorra la Vella council has added two plain‑clothes civic agents to its staff to identify and sanction acts of public incivility, councillors Xavier Surana and Jordi Cabanes announced. The officers will operate undercover in pairs alongside members of the Traffic Service, forming mixed teams that patrol the parish on morning and afternoon shifts. The operation is intended to run year‑round and to combine the visible presence of uniformed agents with covert checks by plain‑clothes inspectors, who are authorised to issue fines.

The new civic agents reinforce an existing proximity unit within the Traffic department, which already maintains a continuous street presence. The initiative is presented as a transversal effort between the departments of Circulation and Public Services, Environment and Natural Heritage to increase street-level control and speed up intervention when incivilities occur.

Officials said the teams will focus on common offences that affect everyday coexistence and the parish’s image: owners not picking up dog excrement, terraces occupying more space than authorised, feeding pigeons, putting out rubbish outside permitted hours, noise outside allowed times, graffiti and vandalism, illegal waste dumping, misuse of green areas and other unauthorised occupations of public space. Patrols will also monitor street furniture and general cleanliness.

Council members stressed that the hygiene department already carries out substantial cleaning work. Councillors reported more than 50 staff dedicated to street cleaning and quoted figures of roughly 260 kilometres of pavements covered by mechanical sweeping and about 40 kilometres on foot, along with daily pressure‑washing and a specialised waste‑collection fleet. Despite this investment — the council has said it dedicates several million euros annually to these services — streets are often re‑soiled within hours.

Surana and Cabanes said educational campaigns have been ongoing for some time but have not produced sufficient behavioural change. “Pedagogy we have been doing for a long time,” Surana said, explaining the shift toward enforcement. The plain‑clothes deployment already began during 2025, and the council reports an increase in sanctions this year: municipal figures cited 38 fines related to dog ownership, 11 for street hygiene offences and nine for terrace infringements.

Sanctions will follow existing municipal ordinances, with penalties ranging from around €60 for failing to collect dog excrement to as much as €2,000 for serious terrace infringements. Authorities have not ruled out raising penalty amounts in the future.

The council says the reinforced presence and combination of uniformed and undercover patrols aim to deter repeat offences, protect public space and ensure that infractions affecting cleanliness and coexistence are detected and sanctioned.