Torrevieja City Council has joined legal proceedings against an illegal street vendor arrested for allegedly assaulting a Local Police officer, and is asking the court to impose an unusual restriction: a ban preventing him from returning to a specific section of the Juan Aparicio promenade.
The council says the measure is aimed at tackling repeated safety problems in one of the seafront areas where illegal street vending and related incidents are most concentrated.
Security councillor Federico Alarcón said the request does not cover the whole municipality or even the entire seafront. Instead, it is limited to the precise area of the promenade where the man allegedly sold goods illegally and where the police incident took place. The duration of the proposed exclusion order would be decided by the judge if the measure is accepted.
According to Alarcón, the man was arrested, brought before the court and released. However, shortly after leaving court, he allegedly returned to the same spot on the promenade and again threatened officers, even referring to the policeman he had allegedly assaulted.
The council hopes the measure would provide a stronger legal tool against repeat behaviour. If the suspect returned to the prohibited area despite a court order, he could face consequences for breaching a judicial order, a potentially more serious offence than the original administrative sanction for illegal vending.
Alarcón compared the approach to measures sometimes used by supermarkets against repeat shoplifters, where offenders can be banned from returning to the premises for a set period.
The proposal emerged from coordination meetings involving Local Police, the Guardia Civil, courts, Social Services and Torrevieja Hospital. These meetings have focused on recurring problems such as illegal occupation, unauthorised street vending and cases involving people who may require health or social intervention.
The council says the aim is to create practical procedures so each authority knows how to act, what measures can be requested and what support is available from other agencies.
The final decision now rests with the court. If approved, the measure could open a new legal route for Torrevieja in dealing with repeat illegal vending and public-order problems on the seafront.
