Theft continues to be the star crime in big capitals like Barcelona. And it is on the surface and in that underground world that is suburban transport, the subway, through which one and a half million users travel daily. Travelers who are also victims susceptible to being robbed when they are distracted in rush hour crowds. Crimes that in the first nine months of the year increase compared to the same period in 2022, with an increase of 47.3%, according to the Ràdio Estel broadcaster on Monday and later confirmed by this newspaper.
On the same radio station, inspector Eduard Múñoz, head of the Barcelona urban transport area of ??the Mossos d’Esquadra, assured that traveling by public transport “is safe”.
The police have groups that work exclusively in the metro, in coordination with the private security service contracted by Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB), which manages a room where images are received live from practically any corner of the metro, including the carriages.
The crime figures are not good this year in practically any criminal modality. And although there are political leaders who insist that these are numbers that should be compared with those of 2019, compared to those of the previous year the upward trend in both thefts and robberies with violence in the Barcelona metro It’s obvious.
Until September, which is the last month with updated data, 10,094 thefts had been reported on the metro, compared to 6,852 in the same period last year. All the months of this year, except for April, closed with more than a thousand thefts, and February was the one that registered the most complaints for these thefts with distraction: 1,216.
Statistics are only part of the reality, but they do not explain everything that happens. And even though the trend is of a general increase, these are numbers that are distributed among one and a half million daily users and are therefore reasonable. Outside, up in the city, the increase in the number of theft complaints is lower, but also on the rise. The figures are from the first semester and were distributed at the last Security Meeting. Until June, it went from 42,772 thefts to 50,116 this year, but still far from the almost 67,000 thefts reported in 2019.
The increase in violent robberies is less pronounced, but also up by 14%. 447 robberies with violence and intimidation were reported until September, and most of the incidents took place in the station, platforms, corridors, stairs or access halls. A hundred violent robberies were reported inside the wagons.
One of the tools that in recent years has proven to be more effective against this type of specialized and repeat offenders is the subway stay away orders. Precautionary measures that are achieved with the complicity of judges and prosecutors and particularly elaborate and complex police reports.
