The police forces have reinforced control of thefts during the day and robberies inside vehicles at night in Amposta since September after observing an increase in crime statistics in recent months.
The measures, which are carried out in a coordinated manner by the local police and the Mossos d'Esquadra, are part of the coexistence plan launched by the City Council in March 2021.
The municipal government has committed to analyzing the 300% increase in criminal acts in the first half of this year but insists that the city is safe. It has also announced the hiring, in the coming months, of four new local police officers, which will have a staff of 44 officers.
The latest data on criminal acts made public by the Ministry of the Interior pointed to a global increase of 36.2% or, in similar terms, of seven acts per thousand inhabitants, as recognized by the councilor of the interior, Iris Castell.
Much of the growth to 606 total cases registered was motivated by the great growth in complaints related to cybercrime and scams over the Internet, which increased by 120 cases - 215.8% more. But the statistics also pointed to a 22.5% increase in thefts and a 33% increase in robberies with many committed in homes and establishments.
This is what would have motivated the reinforcement of police resources towards the prevention of thefts and vehicle thefts within the coexistence plan.
According to the ABP sub-inspector of the Montsià de los Mossos, Guillem Roig, more resources have been mobilized to generate crime maps and prevent these crimes.
On the ground, he specified, more agents have been deployed "at strategic times and places" - there have been cases of robberies against elderly people who were going to withdraw money from the bank - to deal with thefts during daylight hours. More patrols by plainclothes officers are also organized to thwart robberies inside night vehicles, identify and arrest their possible perpetrators.
Despite recognizing that these cases have increased "exponentially" in recent months, the chief inspector of the local police, Josep Massana, described the city as "very safe", when compared to other cities in the territory and Catalonia. .
"It is true that we have had an increase in criminal acts, especially in scams and cybercrime, in which the local police and the ABP of the Montsià de los Mossos have no room to act: they are highly specialized criminal acts, with perpetrators located in the Eastern Europe or Asian countries. We must try to provide prevention advice to citizens but we have no room for action," he justified.
In general, police officials from both forces have made a positive assessment of the implementation of the coexistence plan two and a half years ago.
On paper, it should serve to prevent administrative infractions and crimes, especially affecting situations on public roads that generated a feeling of insecurity such as drug consumption and trafficking, uncivil actions, fights and arguments - many related to nightlife -, theft or occupation of property.
According to Massana, police presence has increased in commercial areas with alternating foot patrols between both forces and more "saturation" patrols have been carried out, with controls at the city's entrances by specialized units and plainclothes patrols. "In September we have not had any violent robberies either in commercial establishments, or inside homes or on public roads," he said.
But despite the reiteration of these messages, the municipal government recognizes that there is a feeling of insecurity among citizens that is difficult to counteract. A sensation, according to Castell reiterated, based on "populism" and "promoted" by "some opposition parties" and the "head of the opposition", in reference to former mayor Manel Ferré, whom he accused of wanting to "break the "social peace" of the municipality, as recently declared by the mayor, Adam Tomàs.
At the same time, both Castell and the first deputy mayor, Núria Marco, have wanted to highlight the work of the local police, have assured that there is a high level of conflict resolution and have recalled that the increases in criminal acts must put in the context of a growth in the city's population by 2,000 inhabitants in the last eight years. A body, that of the local police, according to the head of the Interior, which often "takes on" actions that "are not within its competence", especially in the area of the fight against drug trafficking, overloading its capacity. punctually, as he acknowledged.
Marco has announced that the municipal government will analyze the latest data on criminal acts and decide the appropriate actions. The first, he advanced, will be to increase the staff of the local police by four agents, 10% more, reaching 44 officers in total before the end of the year. The first deputy mayor points out that the new incorporations will work in the area of "combating incivility" and those aspects that are most visibly annoying for citizens.
