BarcelonaThere are two territories separated by more than 200 kilometers at two ends of Catalonia that share a characteristic that may surprise you: Montsià and Pallars lead the ranking of the Basic Police Areas (ABP) of the Mossos d’Esquadra where crimes are growing the most. Specifically, Montsià is where crime rose the most in 2023, with an increase of 28.1%, and Pallars increased by 20.4%.
“I think people have woken up late to the pandemic,” explains sub-inspector Guillem Roig, head of the ABP del Montsià, which monitors a territory where around 70,000 people live. In other words, the increase in crimes expected after covid did not come in 2022, but in 2023. “Last year was complicated”, admits the policeman. They detect that mainly crimes against property and against people have increased. From 792 thefts, it has gone to 953; from 609 scams, to 1,086; from 286 crimes of injuries, to 330. In total, from 3,500 crimes to 4,500.
Multiple recidivism is not a problem only in Barcelona, but, according to the sub-inspector, it is also very present in Montsià. There are criminals from the county, from all their lives, who they know and catch quickly, but there are also some who come from other places. The head of the Mossos al Montsià explains that they can come from the Tarragona area as well as from Castelló. “We’re in the middle,” he admits. But what are they looking for in Montsià? Many times, the answer is in the field. “They are looking for olives and carobs,” he explains. And more so now that they are at the price of gold.
The Mossos have created a specific team that fights theft in the countryside and have color maps of the areas with the highest risk of theft. “It creates a lot of alarm, as soon as it happens to a farmer everyone knows, and the feeling of insecurity increases,” admits the sub-inspector. However, Roig also says that in recent months there has been more “social tension”, with more fights and confrontations, and this would explain the increase in crimes of threats and injuries.
Stat-changing behaviors
Montsià leads the ranking of ABPs where crimes are growing the most, and second place is for El Prat de Llobregat. All the sources consulted, both police and politicians, warn of the same effect: the exponential increase in crimes at the airport is the main trigger for the rise of El Prat. The ARA has already advanced that thefts have increased tenfold in a decade. In fact, if the airport were left out of the equation, it is estimated that the number of crimes in the municipality would fall in half. After El Prat, the territory where crimes grew the most in 2023 were Pallars Jussà and Pallars Sobirà, which share the same ABP. Between the two counties, they barely reach 20,000 inhabitants.
If in 2022 there were 686 crimes, in 2023 there were 828, an increase of 20.4%. In Pallars, scams (from 232 to 307) and robberies (from 19 to 53) have increased in particular. Despite this, sub-inspector Sònia Solduga, head of the Pallars ABP, denies that the feeling of insecurity has increased. “We start from very low total data, the simple fact of having a few more crimes makes us increase the statistic,” he says. He explains that last year a single man did a dozen robberies by himself before he was caught, and that this made the statistics go up a lot. However, the data is increasing mainly due to scams, in a trend that is general throughout Catalonia.
“Being a police officer in Pallars has nothing to do with being one in Barcelona,” says the sub-inspector. Everyone knows each other here, and when there is a robbery the police know who to look for. They know that there are nine occupations in nine buildings, or that the 52 public health crimes (last year there were 40) are committed by specific people. Most are from here and pick them up at home soon after. As soon as something happens, patrols increase: “That way the feeling of insecurity doesn’t grow.” But being a village policeman also has its downsides, as crimes must be solved quickly. If not, word spreads and so does alarmism. In a year, between 60 and 80 arrests are made between the two Pallars. And the Mossos do not reach 100 agents, although four years ago there were 34 effective. Crimes are increasing, but so are the police.
There is also this increase in Montsià. In 2024 there was a 7% increase in officers and now there are 112. In 2020, however, there were 85. The data for 2024, says the sub-inspector, is not bad and crimes are not increasing. He ends the conversation by saying that he hopes that next year they will no longer lead the ranking and that he will not receive any calls from this newspaper.
