Criminal activity increased dangerously in Barcelona in 2023 despite the notable increase in police pressure. This is confirmed by the data made public yesterday by the Department of the Interior and the City Council of the Catalan capital to the Local Security Board.
A periodic meeting that serves to share the state of the city in terms of security and to make an objective assessment of the latest figures. Statistics that only show part of the reality, because everyone knows that there are still many crimes that go unreported. In any case, the year that has closed is bad, with a generalized increase in absolutely all types of crime compared to the previous year.
The balance sheet indicates that last year complaints increased by 8.6% compared to 2022, with alarming increases in types of crime now such as complaints of sexual violence (24.5%), fraud (35%) and robbery with force in establishments ( 40).
The same data indicate a clear difference in criminal behavior between the first and second semesters of last year. From January to June, the increase was 13.7%, while from July 1 to December 31 it was 4.2%. A recovery that, they assured, has coincided with the arrival of the latest promotions of cops and urban guards and that allowed to increase the police devices, until managing to readjust the upward trend.
Last year, 27,252 people were arrested in Barcelona, with an average of 75 per day; 23% more than in 2022. And 57,169 more people, 11.4% more than the previous year, were investigated. The resolution percentage of complaints was 27.2%, a point and a half more than the previous year.
Mayor Jaume Collboni presided over the Security Council with the presence of the Minister of the Interior, Joan Ignasi Elena, their respective political and operational teams and representatives of the National Police, the Civil Guard, the judiciary and the Prosecutor's Office.
The meeting was held at a complicated time, a reflection of the tension in the relationship between the leadership of the Mossos and the Urban Guard. In January, La Vanguardia advanced the institutional crisis that had opened up between the two organizations due to the dissolution of the joint investigation teams, which worked particularly well in the fight against drug trafficking and the dismantling of points of sale and drug floors.
This disagreement led to a meeting with the presence of Eduard Sallent, Chief Commissioner of the Mossos, and the Major Intendant of the Urban Guard, Pedro Velázquez. A once again tense appointment in which it was agreed to "lower the tension" and approach positions. It was decided to create several working groups to discuss and propose a new work system in matters such as male and sexual violence and drug trafficking. The intention was to arrive at yesterday's meeting with agreements, but it was not possible.
At the moment, there are no joint investigation groups, unless directly requested by a prosecutor or a judge. And the urban guards continue to sign as secretaries the certificates issued by the Mossos certificate unit, but they no longer participate in public health investigations.
The situation did not go unnoticed at the meeting and the anti-drug prosecutor of Barcelona, Gerardo Cavero, asked to speak to defend the model that has been removed.
Police officials noted the influence on the increase in complaints of the recovery of tourism, with more than 35 million overnight stays, a figure even 1.8% higher than those registered in 2019, the year that, especially in the Generalitat, is used as a reference to argue that the insecurity situation is not as serious as it could be deduced from the comparison between the last two years.
The statistics provided by the Interior and the City Council highlight the increase in crimes related to public health, by 5.9%. This increase is directly related to the unstoppable and recognized activity in all areas of the city of the regional public health research unit, which depends directly on the police region of the Mossos de Barcelona, located in the Ciutat Vella police station and which in 2023 closed 186 substance points. A job done hand in hand with the Urban Guard, its urban crime and investigative groups. Their function is now pending to be specified because they are no longer part of these joint teams.
The statistics maintain theft as the city's star crime, the one with the most incidence, since it represents 48% of all reported crimes. Compared to last year, they increased by 6.5%. In 2023, 100,944 were reported, compared to 94,776 the previous year. The problem of theft goes hand in hand with multi-recidivism, which has found in the big cities a crack in the legal system that allows the perpetrator to act with great impunity, again and again, until he gets tired of it and changes scenario or gets a remand in custody, which is rare. The five most active repeat offenders accumulated a total of 228 arrests in 2023 alone. The police officials, and here the initiative is from the Mossos, have a list of 526 people classified as multi-recidivists who have been charged with a total of 6,169 crimes.
Another crime that has skyrocketed in 2023 is robbery with force in establishments, with a growth of 40%. A real barbarity, if you take into account that they went from 1,878 to 2,636, although the press release highlights that the number of detainees linked to this modality has also grown by 62%.
The scourge of sex crimes continues to rise unstoppably, despite the fact that police officials highlighted an improvement in the percentage of solving crimes, which reaches 83% and is closely related to an increasing specialization of investigators and a better receiving complaints Complaints rose by 24%, from 883 to 1,099. It is true that there is more awareness of victims to report, but it is also indisputable that assaults are growing exponentially and, above all, those in which the perpetrator belongs to the victim's trusted environment.
