The general increase in the number of known crimes during last year, which marks a trend of clear recovery in criminal activity that is dangerously approaching the historical records of 2018 and 2019, has exceptions in about twenty Catalan cities that , in the balance for 2023, present better statistics than in 2022. The analysis of the data made public a few days ago by the Ministry of the Interior, based on the information provided by all the police forces operating in Spanish territory, reveals that 21 of the 68 Catalan municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants experienced an improvement last year compared to the previous one.
The positive ranking is headed this time by Sant Quirze del Vallès, with a drop in known criminal acts of 16.7%. This municipality of Vallès Occidental had an increase in crimes of 12.5% in 2022. In the last year, practically all types of crimes decreased, including those of a sexual nature, and especially the various types of robberies and thefts .
The list of Catalan municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants that, according to the statistics of the Ministry of the Interior, had a positive evolution during the past year includes, in addition to Sant Quirze del Vallès, the following: Premià de Mar, with a fall of criminal acts of 12.8%; Salou (-11.1%); Roses (-10.7%); Sant Andreu de la Barca (-9%); Pineda de Mar (-8%); Sant Feliu de Guíxols (-6.9%); Splugues de Llobregat (-5.9%); Sant Just Desvern (-5.8%); Salt (-5.7%) Lleida (-5.5%); Lloret de Mar (-4.4%); Mollet del Vallès (-4.3%); Valleys (-3.8%); Cambrils (-3.1%); Banyoles (-2.9%); Sant Adrià de Besòs (-2%); Ruby (-1.6%); Gava (-1.5%); Calafell (-1.5%); and Olesa de Montserrat (-0.9%).
The registry of complaints from the Ministry of the Interior indicates that in 2023 the number of known criminal acts in Spain as a whole increased by 5.9% compared to the previous year. In Catalonia the increase was somewhat higher, standing at 7.3%, largely as a consequence of the weight that the city of Barcelona has in this type of statistics. In the Catalan capital, the increase in criminal activity last year was 10.8%, with a total of 186,014 criminal offenses recorded. These numbers are already close to those that political authorities usually use as a reference to try to dilute the perception of increased citizen insecurity. In the years 2018 and 2019, those immediately before the pandemic, the crimes recorded in Barcelona were, always according to these official statistics, 194,290 and 200,225, respectively.
In the balance for 2023, there are 49 of the 68 municipalities in Catalonia with a population of more than 20,000 inhabitants that saw their results worsen compared to 2022. The worst interannual record is that of Amposta. In the capital of Montsià, known criminal acts increased by 34.1%, an increase mainly due to the increase in thefts, computer scams and cybercrime.
With increases of more than 20%, the municipalities of Palafrugell (26.4%) Castellar del Vallès (26.2%) also appear; and Manlleu (21.5%). Also 21.5% is the increase in El Prat de Llobregat, a municipality in which the growth of activity at the airport usually also triggers the number of crimes.
In the provincial capitals, it is Lleida that shows the most positive evolution in the last year (with 5.5% fewer crimes) and Tarragona the most negative (13% more than in 2022). In the middle, Girona (5.8%). Regarding the municipalities that complete with Barcelona the relationship of the five with the most population, increases occurred in all of them: L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (7.3%); Terrassa (4.1%9: Sabadell (3.6%) and Badalona (3.3%).
