Spain is a wonderful country and is very safe to live in. Let's examine some statistics. The UN does regular surveys on crime rates in countries around the world.
The 7th United Nations Survey on Crime Trends and the Operations of Criminal Justice Systems 1999-2000 gave these statistics for the US, England & Wales and Spain in 1999 (the last date when all 3 countries were surveyed):
Total of recorded crimes per 100,000 inhabitants:
USA – 8,517.19
England & Wales – 10,061.11
Spain – 2,441.08
Total of intentional homicides per 100,000 inhabitants:
USA – 4.55
England & Wales – 1.45
Spain – 1.16
Total rapes per 100,000 inhabitants:
USA – 32.05
England & Wales – 15.96
Spain – 14.86
Total burglaries per 100,000 inhabitants:
USA – 755.29
England & Wales – 1,721.33
Spain – 68.28
Total number of drug offences:
USA – 560.11
England & Wales – 231.29
Spain – 31.44
As you can see, the USA and England & Wales have far more crime per 100,000 inhabitants than Spain. Spain actually has one of the lowest crime rates in Europe and crime is non-existent in many rural areas, where people all know each other and strangers are obvious. Like most countries, crime is more prevalent in major cities like Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Alicante, Malaga and Valencia.
In these cities tourists do get pick-pocketed and mugged, and handbag snatching by motorbike is becoming increasingly more common. Tourists also do get picked on in coastal areas and there have been reports of people in rental cars being pulled over near airports and being mugged. Statistics have shown that these types of crime (theft) are often committed by immigrants rather than Spaniards. In fact, the Costa del Sol's nickname, the Costa del Crime, came from it being the hiding place of UK criminals not because of Spanish criminals.
As far as violent crime is concerned, figures are low although Spain is the home of terrorist organization ETA. Euskadi ta Azkatasuna or ETA are the Basque separatist movement who have been known to cause extremely violent crime in Spain. According to the Spanish Ministerio del Interior, ETA have killed 823 people since 1968. However, ETA's crimes usually take place in Madrid and Northern Spain.
Police in Spain
There are three main police forces in Spain:
1. The Guardia Civil – This is the police force you will see doing speed checks on autovias and roads. They are responsible for customs, crowd control and national security. It is their duty to protect the rights and freedom of Spaniards.
2. La Policia (Nacional) – This force polices Spain's major towns and provincial capitals where it is responsible for national security. They are responsible for issuing identity cards and passports, as well as being responsible for handling drug offences and border control.
3. La Policia Municipal – This force is controlled by the local townhall and is responsible for dealing with local petty crime, enforcing local ordinances and dealing with traffic control and offences in a municipality.
In case of emergency, the number to ring is 112 for all types of emergency. The number for the Guardia Civil is 062.
So, is it safe to live in Spain? Yes, Spain is a safe country with a relatively low crime rate.
