Reported crime in Catalonia fell by 7.6% in the first half of 2026, but the Interior Department has warned about firearm violence after 27 people were injured by guns by 30 June. For residents, the figures point to fewer reported offences overall while shootings and illegal weapons remain a public-safety concern.

The Mossos d'Esquadra, Catalonia's regional police force, recorded 266,197 criminal offences between January and June, 21,911 fewer than in the same period of 2025. The data were reviewed at the ninth Security and Justice Committee meeting, according to reporting on the presentation by Interior Minister Núria Parlon and senior police officials.

Most reported offences occurred in person

  • 226,279 offences were recorded in the physical environment.
  • 39,918 were recorded online, mainly cyber fraud.
  • Sexual offences rose 15.1% above the 2022–2025 average to 2,224 cases, with 45% reported to have taken place in homes.

At Barcelona-El Prat Airport, the Mossos recorded 760 offences during the six months, a 26.7% decrease on the same period in 2025. Josep Lluís Trapero, director general of the Mossos, attributed the fall to increased police pressure, exclusion orders for repeat offenders and the effects of the new Law against Repeat Offending.

Gun injuries approach the 2025 total

Ara reported that 27 people were injured by firearms in Catalonia during the first half of 2026, one fewer than the 28 reported across the whole of 2025. Last month, two people were taken to Vall d'Hebron Hospital with gunshot wounds after a daytime street argument in Bon Pastor, Barcelona, according to the same report.

  • 27 people were reported injured by firearms from January to June 2026.
  • 28 firearm injuries were reported in the whole of 2025.
  • Ara reported seven firearm deaths in 2026 by the time of publication, compared with eight during 2025.

El País separately reported six homicides in its account of the firearm concern during the first six months. The supplied reports do not explain the difference between that homicide figure and Ara's count of seven firearm deaths, or confirm that the two measures use identical classifications.

Parlon linked much of the spread of firearms to drug trafficking and said she had sent Spain's Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, a proposal for tougher penalties for illegal gun possession and large marijuana plantations.

"This is a proposal we make from police experience, from what we are encountering and from the critical elements we observe, and how we believe we can neutralise them," Parlon said.

Interior also said its main crime indicators will now be measured against the average for the previous four years, rather than only the preceding year. Residents who want to consult published crime data can use the official Crime Statistics Portal.

Primary sources: icgc.cat, icgc.cat. Reported by Source Text Link, Albert Diumenjó Segalà, elpais.com, catalannews.com, barna.news, Web Portal Estadístico, catalan.news, El Periódico Barcelona.