Overall, rates of crime in Spain are relatively low in comparison to other European countries, with the notable exception of robberies. [1] In 2022 it was listed as number two out of 35 states in Europe with regard to the number of police-recorded robberies relative to population size, [1] although in 2020 it had a lower homicide rate than the European Union average. [2]
Instances of robbery are particularly widespread in Spain, as of 2020 Spain had the second highest recorded instances of theft in the EU. [3] One of the often cited reasons for this is a national law that states that theft of anything worth less than €400 ($459) is not a crime, but a misdemeanor. Additionally offenses for theft of anything valued less than 400 euro are not accumulated to result in more serious charges. [4]
In 2020, Spain had a homicide rate of 0.64 per 100,000 population, making it the 6th lowest among 30 European countries [2] and lower than the European Union average of 0.9. There were a total of 298 homicides in Spain in 2020. [5] [1] Many terrorist attacks have occurred in Spain, the most deadly of which was the 2004 Madrid train bombings.
Asturias, in Northern Spain, has one of the countries' lowest crime rates. With a population of 1 million people, it registered only 1 homicide during 2021. [6] Its biggest city, Gijón, with more than 250,000 inhabitants, has not registered a homicide since February 2020 (as of June 2022), before COVID-19 lockdown. [7] [8]
Spain is the principal route of entry of drugs and narcotics into the European Union. Indeed, about half of the cocaine found by law enforcement agencies in Europe is found by Spanish police. [9] As of 2005, Spain had the highest rate of cocaine users in the world. [9]
Cocaine usage in Spain is high by world standards. [10] Spain is a major transit point for cocaine entering Europe. [10] After arrival in Spain, much of the cocaine is then trafficked to other countries. [10] In 2005, over 50% of the cocaine found by police in Europe was found by Spanish police. [10] The so-called Galician mafia is the main trafficker of cocaine into Spain and to European countries such as the United Kingdom.
The US Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs advised travellers in 2011 that Spain had a "moderate rate of crime". [11] Street crimes against tourists occur in the principal tourist areas. [11] Madrid and Barcelona, in particular, report incidents of "pick-pocketing, mugging, and occasional violent attacks". [11] In Madrid, incidents have been reported in "all major tourist areas, including the area near the Prado Museum, near Atocha train station, in Retiro Park, in areas of old Madrid including near the Royal Palace, and in Plaza Mayor". [11] In Barcelona, the largest number of incidents reported also occurred in major tourist areas. [11]
In 2019, the Embassy of the United States in Spain issued a warning to its nationals against the increasing violent crime in Barcelona. The embassy highlighted crimes, which were recently committed in the most popular tourist places, such as, the theft of jewelry, money and watches. These offenses have physically harmed the victims in some cases. [12]
Spain has specific a gender-based violence law with its own courts. In 20 years they have dealt with 2 million complaints and convicted 700,000 people.
Since 2003 the Spanish government has been counting gender violence murders, by December 2022 they had reached 1,183 murders. [13] With an annual number between 43 (2021) and 76 (2008) [14] murders a year.
Crime statistics for Spain are published annually by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística. [15] Different agencies of Spain and the European Union conduct analysis of the crime data in Spain. Statistics show Spain is one of the European countries with the lowest crime rate, according to a 2005 Gallup Europe research study. [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] The rate of misdemeanours and crimes in Spain was 46 per 1,000 people in 2009. [21] In 2013 Spain had one of the lowest crime rates in Europe. [22]
The economy of Spain is a highly developed social market economy. It is the world's 15th largest by nominal GDP and the sixth-largest in Europe. Spain is a member of the European Union and the eurozone, as well as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Trade Organization. In 2023, Spain was the 18th-largest exporter in the world. Meanwhile, in 2022, Spain was the 15th-largest importer in the world. Spain is listed 27th in the United Nations Human Development Index and 36th in GDP per capita by the World Bank. Some main areas of economic activity are the automotive industry, medical technology, chemicals, shipbuilding, tourism and the textile industry. Among OECD members, Spain has a highly efficient and strong social security system, which comprises roughly 23% of GDP.
Tourism in Spain is a major contributor to national economic life, with foreign and domestic tourism contributing to about 12.4% of Spain's GDP. Ever since the 1960s and 1970s, the country has been a popular destination for summer holidays, especially with large numbers of tourists from the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, the Benelux, and the United States, among others. Accordingly, Spain's foreign tourist industry has grown into the second-biggest in the world.
Crime in Canada is generally considered low overall. Under the Canadian constitution, the power to establish criminal law & rules of investigation is vested in the federal Parliament. The provinces share responsibility for law enforcement, and while the power to prosecute criminal offences is assigned to the federal government, responsibility for prosecutions is delegated to the provinces for most types of criminal offences. Laws and sentencing guidelines are uniform throughout the country, but provinces vary in their level of enforcement.
Crime in Western Australia is tackled by the Western Australia Police and the Western Australian legal system.
Crime in St. Louis includes an overview of crime both in the city of St. Louis and in the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. Crime in the city increased from the 1960s through the early 1990s as measured by the index crime rate. Despite decreasing crime, rates of violent crime and property crime in both the city and the metropolitan area remain higher than the national metropolitan area average. In addition, the city of St. Louis consistently has been ranked among the most dangerous cities in the United States. As of April 2017, St. Louis has the highest murder rate in America. At the end of 2017, St. Louis metropolitan had 205 murders, 159 of which were within the city limits. In 2018, the new Chief of Police, John Hayden said two-thirds (67%) of all the murders and one-half of all the assaults are concentrated in a triangular area in the north part of the city.
Crime has been recorded in the United States since its founding and has fluctuated significantly over time. Most available data underestimate crime before the 1930s, giving the false impression that crime was low in the early 1900s and had a sharp rise after. Instead, violent crime during the colonial period was likely three times higher than the highest modern rates in the data we have, and crime had been on the decline since colonial times. Within the better data for crime reporting and recording available starting in the 1930s, crime reached its broad, bulging modern peak between the 1970s and early 1990s. After 1992, crime rates have generally trended downwards each year, with the exceptions of a slight increase in property crimes in 2001 and increases in violent crimes in 2005–2006, 2014–2016 and 2020–2021. As of July 1, 2024 violent crime was down and homicides were on pace to drop to 2015 levels by the end of the year.
Immigration to Spain increased significantly in the beginning of the 21st century. In 1998, immigrants accounted for 1.6% of the population, and by 2009, that number had risen to over 12%. Until 2014, the numbers were decreasing due to the economic crisis, but since 2015, immigration to Spain has increased again, especially after 2021.
Crime rates in Portugal are generally low, and most crimes are non-violent. Portugal's security and peace indicators compare favourably to those of other countries; According to the Institute for Economics and Peace's 2022 Global Peace Index report, Portugal ranks as the 6th most peaceful country in the world.
Crime in Italy, though low compared to other developed countries, is present in various forms throughout the nation. Italy is notorious for its organized crime groups, which are present worldwide and collectively referred to as the Mafia. Resultantly, financial crimes like corruption, extortion, and theft are the most common type of illicit activity in the country. Violent crimes are exceedingly rare in Italy evidenced by its homicide rate of 0.51 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2021, the lowest in Europe aside from Luxembourg and Slovenia, and one of the lowest in the world.
Crime in Russia refers to the multivalent issues of organized crime, extensive political and police corruption, and all aspects of criminality at play in Russia. Violent crime in Siberia is much more apparent than in Western Russia.
Crime in Poland refers to the incidence, deterrence, and handling of criminal activity in the Republic of Poland by Polish law enforcement agencies charged with ensuring public safety and maintaining order. Poland ranks favorably in terms of public safety, with one of the lowest homicide rates in Europe. Poland was ranked 25th in the 2022 Global Peace Index and scored 0.0 on the 2023 Global Terrorism Index.
Crime in Paraguay has increased in recent years with criminals often targeting those thought to be wealthy. Although most crime in Paraguay is nonviolent, there has been an increase in the use of weapons and there have been incidents where extreme violence has been used.
Crime in Atlanta, Georgia is above the national median and has been a major problem for the city since the middle 20th century.
Figures on crime in London are based primarily on two sets of statistics: the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) and police recorded crime data. Greater London is generally served by three police forces; the Metropolitan Police which is responsible for policing the vast majority of the capital, the City of London Police which is responsible for The Square Mile of the City of London and the British Transport Police, which polices the national rail network and the London Underground. A fourth police force in London, the Ministry of Defence Police, do not generally become involved with policing the general public. London also has a number of small constabularies for policing parks. Within the Home Office crime statistic publications, Greater London is referred to as the London Region.
In 2019, 43,686 crimes were reported in the U.S. state of Michigan. Crime statistics vary widely by location. For example, Dearborn has a murder rate of only 2.1 per 100,000 while sharing borders with Detroit and Inkster, some of the highest rates in the state.
This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBTQ that took place in Spain.
Colombia has a high crime rate due to being a center for the cultivation and trafficking of cocaine. The Colombian conflict began in the mid-1960s and is a low-intensity conflict between Colombian governments, paramilitary groups, crime syndicates, and left-wing guerrillas such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and the National Liberation Army (ELN), fighting each other to increase their influence in Colombian territory. Two of the most important international actors that have contributed to the Colombian conflict are multinational companies and the United States.
Crime is present in various forms in Indonesia and is punished by means such as the death penalty, fines and/or imprisonment, but is low compared to other nations in the region. Indonesia's murder rate of 0.4 per 100,000 registered in 2017 is considered one of the lowest in the world.
Crime in Peru has steadily decreased since the 2010s and into the 2020s. Peru's main indicators of crime are the homicide rate and the victimization rate; the victimization rate dropped from forty percent in 2011 to under twenty five percent in 2020.
Crime in Latvia is relatively low, by global standards, especially compared to previous years, when it was named the "crime capital of Europe" by Forbes in 2008. The homicide rate in Latvia was 4.9 per 100,000 people in 2020, a sharp drop from 10 cases per 100,000 people in 2000, and has been steadily decreasing. Although Latvia'a homicide rate is high by European Union standards, it is below the world average of 6.2 per 100.000. The United States Department of State has assessed Latvia's security rating as "medium", with a moderate crime rate. In recent times, crime has been increasing, particularly due to many Latvians stranded because of the COVID-19 pandemic returning to Latvia and choosing to commit crime. According to Interpol, Latvia is considered an attractive place for regional and organized criminals involved in drug trafficking, arms trafficking, human trafficking, or smuggling. According to the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia, a third of all women in Latvia have suffered some form of sexual violence or rape, while men are subjected to violence outside the family.