Fact-Check Confirms High Proportion of Foreign Nationals Arrested
During an appearance on The Wild Project podcast, former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau challenged presenter Jordi Wild to verify a claim that 90% of theft arrests in Barcelona in 2024 involved foreign nationals. Wild requested verification from his team, who confirmed the figure: 91% of those arrested for theft in Barcelona that year were foreigners. The data originated from the Directorate General of the Police of the Generalitat and was previously reported by El Mundo in 2025, following a query from the political party VOX. The fact-checking platform Maldita.es also validated the statistic using Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan regional police) records. In 2024, there were 5,442 arrests for theft in Barcelona, of which 4,942 involved foreign nationals, 90.8%, nearly matching the 91% cited. For violent robberies, the proportion was 83.5%, while 79% of all arrests citywide involved foreign nationals.
Colau Questions Data, Cites Earlier Trends
Colau, who led Barcelona’s Local Security Board during her mayoral term, accepted the accuracy of the figure but countered with her own experience. She recalled that during her tenure, Spanish nationals constituted the majority among those arrested, though she could not recall the exact percentage. She highlighted that in the first half of 2022, 76% of those arrested by the Guàrdia Urbana (Barcelona’s municipal police) were foreign nationals, 2,247 out of 2,939 arrests. However, she stressed that arrests do not equate to convictions and noted that nationality data is not routinely published by the Mossos. Colau also pointed to broader crime demographics, stating that 90% of crimes committed during her time in office were by men, adding: “No one would think of saying that men are criminals.” She cited INE data showing 80% of those convicted nationally in 2025 were male, arguing that the focus should be on individual accountability, not origin.
The important thing is not where you were born, the important thing is that if someone does something, they pay for it.
Wild suggested the trend might indicate a deterioration in recent years, though no comparative long-term dataset was provided in the sources.
Regional Arrest Data Supports Broader Pattern
Further context comes from a 2025 report by ElCaso.cat, cited by VOX, which stated that 65.5% of all arrests across Catalonia in 2024 involved foreign nationals, 30,783 out of 46,996. This group represents approximately 18% of Catalonia’s population. Moroccan nationals were the largest group among those arrested, followed by Algerians. The data came from an internal report by the Catalan Interior Department, which VOX had long requested. Ignacio Garriga, national secretary general of VOX, responded by calling for mass deportations of foreign offenders, stating: “You have to choose: foreign criminals maintained with your taxes or mass deportations.”
Sources: El Confidencial.
