ERC Boasts About Their Management of Security, but Hides Part of the Reality

The TV3 program Tot es Mou has analyzed which municipalities with 20,000 inhabitants are the safest in Catalonia and the least unsafe. They have done so based on data from the Ministry of the Interior for the year 2024. ERC has taken the opportunity to boast about governing three of the five safest municipalities in Catalonia.

Norma Pujol, deputy secretary general of ERC, has highlighted the good data from Sant Andreu de la Barça, Esparreguera, and Olesa de Montserrat. Municipalities with the lowest crime rates, all governed by the Republicans. "Security is left-wing, order is left-wing," she tweeted.

A slogan copied by Alex Montornès, a Republican councilor in Badalona. He stated that while ERC governs in the safest cities, "in Badalona crime rises with (in)security in Albiol's hands."

So far, the narrative that ERC has sold with the invaluable help of public television. The reality is much more complex and exposes the endless cynicism of the Republicans when talking about security. Let's see what the data say, and what ERC doesn't tell when they claim the medal of the safest cities.

What Do the Data Say?

Sant Andreu de la Barça, governed by ERC and the Comuns, is one of the safest cities with 23.9 crimes per thousand inhabitants. However, conventional crime increased by almost 4% in 2024. Home burglaries and drug trafficking decreased, but sexual assaults doubled, and robberies with violence and intimidation increased.

ERC boasts about its management of security in Sant Andreu de la Barça. But according to the latest municipal barometer, 28% of residents consider security the main problem of the city. The ERC mayor himself, who is also the councilor for public safety, has urgently requested reinforcements from the Mossos to ensure security.

Among the five safest cities with more than 20,000 inhabitants in Catalonia is also Esparreguera. This town in Baix Llobregat, governed by the PSC and ERC, has an index of 21.1 crimes per thousand inhabitants. Moreover, in this case, crime has indeed decreased by 15.5%.

This is mainly due to the good coordination that the Local Police and Mossos have been practicing for years. A collaboration that has managed to reduce especially fights, sexual assaults, and robberies with intimidation and thefts.

Another of the safest cities is Olesa, where ERC governs along with Junts and the CUP. In this case, conventional crime has also decreased, specifically by 10%.

Some types, such as burglaries in homes and establishments, and vehicle thefts, have decreased. Although sexual assaults with penetration increased, and there were also more robberies with violence and intimidation.

Olesa has managed to reduce crime with measures such as the installation of video surveillance cameras. But the city is not safe from the violence affecting Catalonia. Residents were startled a few weeks ago by a deadly shooting between drug traffickers.

The Data ERC Hides

The previous analysis shows that data on security are relative and respond to a complex dynamic with multiple factors. Municipal management, of course, but also the characteristics of each city or the efficiency of the police forces.

It also doesn't seem appropriate to celebrate the data of a population (Sant Andreu de la Barça) where violent robberies and sexual assaults are rising.

Moreover, ERC hides that among the most insecure cities, there are also some where they govern. Like Sitges, where ERC governs with the Comuns, and where 100 crimes are recorded per thousand inhabitants. Sitges is the fifth city in the entire State with the highest rate of robbery with violence and intimidation.

There is thus no cause-effect relationship between ERC's management and security, but it depends on the circumstances of each municipality. The other most dangerous cities are Barcelona, Sant Adrià del Besòs, El Prat de Llobregat, and Salou. All of them with a high concentration of migration and governed by the left - PSC and the Comuns.

Another significant fact. Lleida, a city governed for years by ERC, is the second Catalan capital with the most crimes per inhabitant and one of the most degraded provinces in the entire State. Insecurity soared by 7.5% last year in Manresa, a city where the Republicans also govern.

With Right-Wing Recipes

Moreover, there is another reality that exposes ERC when they defend their management of security. They forget to say that they have led the Ministry of the Interior in recent years, when the largest increase in crime occurred. They have also managed the Equality portfolio during the largest increase in sexual assaults.

Councilor Joan Ignasi Elena imposed the thesis of perceptions. He denied the problem of crime and accused others of being alarmists and far-right.

Their management of security is precisely the reason for the widespread increase in crime in the municipalities, regardless of who governs them. But it is also hypocritical to rely now only on data when they have been talking about perceptions for years.

In fact, if we look at the management of security in Olesa or Esparreguera, we see that the same pattern is repeated. They have managed to reduce crimes by avoiding the benevolence of former councilor Elena and applying right-wing recipes, such as more police and more video surveillance.