Madrid to install camera network and new ATMs in its smallest towns

Madrid’s regional administration is rolling out a dual initiative aimed at rural communities. The first component involves installing a network of cameras equipped with licence-plate readers at more than five hundred control points across the 142 smallest municipalities, with installation slated to begin in the latter half of 2027. Data will be overseen by one outlet police forces where they exist, and by the emergency services and the CECOM centre in towns without their own police.

After securing interior-minister approval, the system could be expanded to broader video-surveillance by national security forces. The second component guarantees basic banking services by deploying sixty-one ATMs in villages under five thousand residents, of which twenty-five are already operating and have processed over six thousand transactions, moving roughly 780,000 euros to date. The rollout targets cash-dependent, vulnerable areas, especially those hit by recent wildfires, and is expected to generate around thirty million euros annually, half of which will benefit local businesses.