The local police of Calella (Maresme) have thwarted an occupation attempt this Sunday on Anselm Clavé street, on the municipality’s seafront. There are three young people detained for resisting authority and attacking officers, according to the police force. There are two police officers injured after their intervention in the operation.
As sources from the Calella City Council have confirmed, the Mossos did not go to the scene and asked the Local Police to take charge of the actions. It so happens that at that time the Catalan police did not have any patrol available in the area, which corroborates the complaint of the mayor, Marc Buch, when he stated that “there are days when there is only one patrol for the entire Alt Maresme.”
The events add to the crime wave that Calella is experiencing in recent weeks. In this specific case, the detainees have no relationship with the young multiple repeat offenders who have accumulated 260 arrests for crimes such as assaults, robberies or threats, although they are of the same nationality. The three arrested this Sunday did not have a stable residence in Calella and came from another municipality.
In Calella the feeling of insecurity has increased. Between October 2021 and 2022, there were 35 robberies in establishments in the city. And, on the other hand, in the last year the figure has dropped to 29. A drop similar to that which occurred in home robberies: from 59 to 50 this year. In addition, vehicle thefts also decreased (28 less), and 22% fewer break-ins.
However, the disproportionate increase in thefts (from 730 to 954) and also scams, as has occurred in Catalonia as a whole, does generate a feeling of insecurity. Furthermore, most crimes are located in the city center, in highly visible places, and with criminals who are recorded on video.
Furthermore, the violence of these types of actions has increased. Young people have lost their fear of the police, whom they often attack, and this year there have been 14 more crimes of injury than last year: 86 in total. And there we must add that the data are official figures, but that many thefts or minor crimes are not reported.
For all these reasons, the mayors of Junts del Maresme asked that the eleven repeat offenders, who are migrants, be expelled from the country. The representatives of the PSC have already expressed their opposition while the rest of the parties distance themselves.
