Theft down by 38% and muggings down by 17.5% in Barcelona
Criminal offences reported in Barcelonan in the first five months of 2022 are down by 23% compared to the same period in 2019, the last year before figures were affected by the pandemic, and up by 40% compared to 2021, when restrictions to contain the pandemic were still in place. The figures were presented at today’s meeting by the Local Security Board, which meets periodically to analyse the main security challenges for Barcelona. The meeting was chaired by the Mayor, Ada Colau, and the Minister for the Interior, Joan Ignasi Elena. Policing will be stepped up this summer to ensure coexistence in the city.
Fewer criminal offences in the first five months of the year
Offences registered in the first five months of the year numbered 73,184, with 8,578 arrests and 19,278 people investigated. The resolution of offences rose by 3.7%, even though arrests were down by 7.3% compared to the same period in 2019. The rise in cases solved is directly related to greater efficiency in combating multiple repeat offences. Crimes committed against people, representing 6.2% of all crime in the city, rose by 15.6% (from 4,053 to 4,684), while crime against property, representing 88.2% of all crime, dropped by 26.8% (88,213 to 64,570). Crimes against public health rose by 46.7% (458 to 672), explaining an increase in police operations to combat drug trafficking, particularly marijuana. Thefts continue to drop compared to the indicators for 2019. Thefts of this type (pickpocketing etc.), which represent 46% of all criminal offences occurring in Barcelona, dropped from 55,475 in 2019 to 34,314 in 2022, a reduction of 38%. Between January and May, muggings involving violence or intimidation in the street numbered 4,136, representing a drop of 17.5% compared to 2019 (when the figure was 5,013). Compared to the same months in 2020, there was a rise here of 40% (2,942 to 4,136). In the first five months of the year, the Catalan police corps (Mossos d’Esquadra) and the City Police detained 744 people in connection with muggings involving violence or intimidation in public streets.
Greater prevention relating to sexual violence
Sexual offences in Barcelona reflect a rising trend in recent years, as with the rest of Catalonia. Cases of sexual aggression rose by 31% (87 to 114) compared to 2019, and 6.54% compared to 2021, while sexual abuse increased by 11.3% (194 to 216) compared to 2019 and 9,09% in comparison with 2021. The figures for cases resolved were 78% and 74% respectively. The Plan Against Sexual Violence, established Catalonia-wide and implemented by the Mossos d’Esquadra, is mainly activated in leisure areas where the Mossos and the City Police work to guarantee safe routes to reach public transport and exits and closures of nightlife venues, with the double goal of protecting victims and identifying and detaining potential sexual aggressors. In terms of working to prevent sexual violence in public space, the City Police started establishing protection points in 2020 for spaces where this sort of aggression of harassment can occur. The process involves designing safe routes from leisure areas to the nearest public transport stops.
Fewer robberies at commercial premises
Robberies involving force at commercial premises were down by 62% compared to 2019, dropping from 1,698 cases to 641. The same downward trend applies with robberies at company premises and private homes, with drops of 26.7% and 8.7% respectively. In comparison with 2020, these types of crimes have gone up by 15% when it comes to thefts with force from inside vehicles, 6% at establishments and 35% in private homes.
More pressure on drug dealing points
Unlike the rest of Catalonia, the phenomenon of marijuana in Barcelona is mainly related to indoor cultivation, particularly in flats and business premises. This increases the risk of fire caused by over-burdened electricity use, inconvenience to local residents and conflicts relating to the control of drug trafficking. Police pressure on these cultivation or sales points has gradually been increased. Between the start of the year and May, the Mossos and the City Police have worked together with joint investigation teams in the sphere of drug trafficking and conducted 60 raids on premises connected with drugs, with 148 people arrested or investigated. The two police corps conducted an average of three raids per week at premises in Barcelona, relating to the cultivation and/or trafficking of drugs.
Summer plan: more police officers than in 2019
Barcelona goes into the summer with a larger police rollout to guarantee coexistence and local residents’ hours of rest. The fight to minimise the impact of crimes against sexual freedom and against multiple repeat offences by the same people in the city are the main challenges for the security corps, to be able to reduce the effects of crime for people who live, visit or travel through the city. The city will have more police officers this summer compared to 2019, to guarantee security after two years of very low crime figures. This year’s summer plan increases the number of officers in the city and the coordination between the Mossos and the City Police. The latter will have an average of 1,000 officers available per day, some 12% more than last year, with a 37% increase in capacity for night shifts. The city’s police officers will be working to ensure coexistence and safety in the city during the months with good weather, when public space is used most intensively.
