Social media are filled with testimonies of assaults by foreigners in Catalonia.

Various posts on social media have focused attention on a phenomenon that is generating growing public concern in Catalonia. These are testimonies about assaults and criminal acts committed by groups of young foreigners. Once again, social media have become spaces where numerous users share personal or close experiences that recount episodes of violence, theft, or threats.

The testimonies have accumulated in a thread on X that ended up going viral. One of the most shared testimonies, for example, describes how a group of more than fifteen teenagers of Maghrebi origin harassed two 13-year-old girls during a fair in Manresa. Another account mentions a beating of a minor, also during a public celebration, which resulted in loss of consciousness and a perforated eardrum. His sister, who witnessed the incident, now suffers panic episodes when she sees young people with a similar profile:

Other messages refer to attempted assaults when trying to prevent access to private areas or to the theft of money and mobile phones during popular events, such as the fira de l’Ascensió in Granollers. In this last case, the victims were under thirteen years old.

The reality of the data

Meanwhile, alongside the spread of these accounts on social media, recently released official data reinforce the perception of insecurity associated with the involvement of foreigners in criminal acts. According to information from the Ministry of the Interior, obtained through a formal request from the Vox party, 84.2% of those arrested for serious crimes in Barcelona during the past year were foreign nationals. This figure includes crimes such as theft, violent robbery, sexual assault, illegal occupation, and drug trafficking.

The percentage of foreigners arrested is especially high in certain categories: 91% in theft, 83.5% in violent robbery, 73% in sexual assault, and 87.5% in illegal occupation. Although in homicides the proportion drops to 59%, it remains the majority. In the case of drug trafficking, 74.14% of those arrested were also foreigners.

Public concern is also related to the phenomenon of repeat offenses. The figures indicate that more than 80% of repeat offenders in Barcelona are minors of foreign origin, according to data cross-referenced with reports from the Guardia Urbana.