The repeat offender pointed out by Xavier García Albiol acts again after being released

Xavier Garcia Albiol swept the last municipal elections in Badalona thanks to a strong speech against crime. He managed to regain the mayor's staff with the promise to restore order after years of left-wing government.

In parallel with his efforts to reduce crime, Albiol is denouncing the system that protects crime in Catalonia. In particular, the laws that favor squatting and repeat offenses. The mayor often uses social media to denounce some flagrant cases like what happened in recent days.

Albiol showed his outrage on May 21 over the arrest of a 32-year-old Moroccan who had accumulated 14 prior criminal records. This criminal was arrested for abusing a minor and later assaulting a police officer. "I hope he will be tried and expelled to his country," the mayor commented at the time.

That message caused comments from Badalona residents, who expressed their skepticism about the possibility that the criminal would end up behind bars. Only ten days later, the criminal acted again after having been released once more.

Arrested 16 times, on the street

Albiol has once again denounced on X the system that allows these criminals to go out on the street and act with impunity. "This week he has been arrested again for violating the restraining order that had been imposed on him," the mayor explained. He has reiterated his desire for him to be tried and "expelled to his country."

Albiol has recalled that this criminal "has already been arrested 16 times," and has stated that "in Badalona we don't want this scum." In his post, he shares images of this new arrest by the Guàrdia Urbana.

The presence on the street of a criminal who has been arrested 16 times reflects a failure of the system in its duty to protect citizens. This is one of the reasons that explain why Albiol achieved a historic result in the last municipal elections. His outrage is shared by many other mayors who see how repeat offenses keep increasing.

More than 3,000 repeat offenders

In their fight against repeat offenses, Mossos d'Esquadra have drawn up a list of more than three thousand criminals who have accumulated more than three arrests. Eighty percent are men, and most don't have a Spanish ID. 

Several mayors have brought a reform of the penal code to the Congress of Deputies to toughen the laws against repeat offenses. The Department of the Interior has increased police presence and forcefulness against these criminals. The Department of Justice is working on a plan to increase the number of courts and speed up fast-track trials.