The Ministry's report is based on data from different police forces. sur

Crime rate in Malaga soared 25% last year, latest Interior Ministry report shows

There was an increase in almost every type of crime in the province in the first nine months of 2022, but the biggest rise was in thefts and violent robberies

Irene Quirante

MALAGA.

Tuesday, 3 January 2023, 11:26 | Updated 11:34h.

In the first nine months of 2022 the crime rate in Malaga province rose by 25.1% compared with the same period the year before. Figures just issued by the Ministry of the Interior show an increase in all types of crime, but the biggest rise was in thefts and violent robberies.

During those nine months there were 19,354 cases of theft in the province, which was an increase of 41.5%, and a 40.4% rise in robberies with violence and intimidation, bringing the total to 1,346.

With regard to robberies, although those involving violence and intimidation increased most in percentage terms, the most frequent were those in which violence was not used against persons but force was used to gain access to homes, shops and other premises, totalling 3,369 cases. Among them, burglaries of private residences stand out, as these increased by 13.4 percent compared to the same period in 2021.

Increase in sexual offences

Other offences included 1,325 cases of stolen vehicles and 870 injuries and brawls (32.4% more than in 2021). Crimes against sexual freedom and integrity also went up by 24.8%, including 63 cases of sexual assault with penetration (compared with 38 in the same period of 2021), and the number of other sexual offences also rose by 20.8%.

The Ministry of the Interior also shows that in the first nine months there were 15 major crimes in the province, two more than in the same period of the previous year. Most of them took place in Malaga city, with an increase in 2022 from three to nine. The others occurred in Marbella, Vélez-Málaga and Torremolinos.

Attempted murders

In addition, there were a further 45 cases of attempted murder (ten more than in 2021), in which the victims managed to escape alive from the violent attack against them.

The number of kidnappings remained the same in 2022 as in 2021, with seven being carried out between January and September last year: three in Marbella, two in Mijas, one in Vélez-Malaga and one in Torremolinos.

Special reference to cybercrime

The Ministry report, which was compiled from information provided by the Guardia Civil and the National, Regional and Local Police forces, makes a special reference to the increase in cybercrime last year.

In Andalucía this type of crime went up by 107.1% compared with 2019. The data for Malaga, which is from 2021, shows that 7,756 people were victims of cybercrime and there were 560 arrests.

Also in Andalucía, 898 people were the victims of bank card and travellers cheques fraud and another 5,339 fell for other types of fraud committed via technology platforms. Of these, 539 were in Malaga province.

Children's access to technology also makes them vulnerable to cybercriminals, the report points out. In the first nine months of 2021, there were nine cases of corruption of minors and people with disabilities or functional diversity and 30 other crimes involving contact through technology with children under the age of 16.