Crime is up 3% in Spain in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2023, mainly due to an increase in rapes, murders, and cybercrime, an official report has found,
According to the Balance Trimestral de Criminalidad (Quarterly Crime Report) of Spain’s Interior Ministry, the total number of crimes recorded from January to June 2024 was 1,224,084—80.6% of which were “conventional crimes” while the remaining 19.4% were cybercrimes.
Cybercrimes include all crimes committed online, including fraud and online sexual offences.
The regions with the biggest increase in ‘conventional’ crime were Aragon (+8.3%), the Canary Islands (+7.5%), and Navarre (+7.1%). Meanwhile, cybercrime was up substantially in several regions, including the Balearic Islands (+28%), the North African exclave of Melilla (+26%), and Asturias (+18%).
There was also a 4.8% increase in sexual crimes, including a 4.1% increase in rapes. As in previous reports, the Interior Ministry said this may be due to a “reduction of social and personal tolerance towards this type of criminal acts,” thus leading to increased reporting, La Gaceta reports.
The figures also show that there were 195 murders between January and June this year, an increase of 8.3% on the same period last year, while the number of attempted murders fell to 619 (-2.2%).
Vehicle thefts and drug trafficking also increased, by 2.5% and 3.5% respectively.
