Crime drops 9% in Spain’s Barcelona – but knife attacks and sexual violence surge

HEAD to Barcelona for a holiday and the advice is almost always the same – beware of the pickpockets, hide your valuables and keep your wits about you after dark.

Could it be that the Catalan Capital’s reputation for being a crime hotspot is unfair?

According to new statistics released by the Barcelona Local Security Board, crime rates have fallen almost 9% in total.

There were 83 646 criminal offenses recorded between January 2025 and June 2025 in the city. That’s 8.8% less than the same time period in 2024.

Even theft – long the scourge of tourists and locals alike – has dropped by 6.8% to its lowest level in over a decade.

This includes a 5,5% drop in violent street robberies and a 31,4% decline in residential burglaries.

The number of crimes committed by repeat criminals has fallen by 10%. Squatting-related offenses have decreased by 21.9%.

According to one study, the perceived level of safety in the city will increase to 5.5 by 2024.

Some 41.4% said that the safety of the city has worsened in the past year, while only 8.6% said it improved.

READ MORE Squatters get a blow in Barcelona as a court rules that cutting off power and water is not deemed treason.

The increase in sexual violence, knife attacks and assaults may have something to do with it.

The report states that 607 sexual assaults were reported between January 2025 and June 2025 in the city, which represents a 17.4% increase from the same time period last year.

This includes a staggering increase of 30,7% in sexual assaults based on gender.

In other places, the number of assaults leading to injuries increased by 7.2% and reached 2,448, despite a halving in murders from ten down to five.

Perhaps the most alarming trend that emerged from this report was the dramatic rise in knife crime.

Knife-related incidents surged by 38.3% in the first six months of 2025, with the Mossos d’Esquadra, Catalunya’s police force, confiscating 1,844 knives and blades in the same period – a whopping 48.5% rise.

The report revealed the Mossos’ efforts to destroy the city’s drug industry.

A total of 1,280 arrests in connection with the drug trade have taken place, which represents a 23,9% increase.

The police have seized a massive 217kg marijuana, 122kg hashish and 4.3kg cocaine. They also seized 6.62kg MDMA, 2.23kg methamphetamines, 323g ketamine and 300g crack cocaine.

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