The Security Forces were made aware of a total of 1,960,113 criminal offences in 2021, a figure that leaves the crime rate at 41.4 per thousand inhabitants, the lowest in the entire recent historical series, excluding 2020 due to the particular circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The figure for the fourth quarter of 2021 includes the evolution of crime recorded in Spain during the twelve months of the year by the National Police, Civil Guard, Ertzaintza, Mossos d'Esquadra and Policía Foral de Navarra, as well as Local Police forces that provide data to the Crime Statistics System of the Secretary of State for Security.
The document can be consulted on the website of the Ministry of Home Affairs, at this link.
The 1,960,113 criminal offences recorded in 2021 represent a decrease of 10.9 per cent compared to 2019, when 2,199,475 were recorded. Of particular note are the reductions in murders and killings, robberies with violence or intimidation, robberies with force, thefts and other property crimes, as well as in the total number of criminal offences.
With regard to drug trafficking offences, the increase in is closely related to the actions of the State Law Enforcement Forces and Agencies within the framework of specific plans such as the Special Security Plan for Campo de Gibraltar, given that very few reports are made in this criminal phenomenon.
With regard to the increase in crimes against sexual freedom and indemnity, this is related to the active social awareness policies that have led to a greater willingness of victims to report these crimes and to put their cases in the hands of the State Law Enforcement Forces and Agencies, which is reducing the levels of under-reporting detected in these types of criminal offences.
Recovery of staffing levels
The reduction in the crime rate, which has fallen 4.3 points since 2018, almost 10 per cent, is related to the Ministry of Home Affairs' policy of recovering the staffing levels National Police and Civil Guard, which in the same period have increased by 10,491.
At 31 December 2017, the total number of staff in both corps was 142,072. After four years of public employment offers, the number of agents reached 152,563 in 2021, an increase of 7.3 per cent. This means an increase of 10,491 National Police and Guardia Civil personnel.
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