By Cathy Elelman • Published: 14 May 2020 • 18:29
THERE are not too many positives to come from the coronavirus crisis, but the enforced lockdown would appear to have led to less crime in Almeria. Interior Ministry figures show the provincial crime rate dropped by 13.3 per cent in the first quarter of the year, although the state of alarm only came into force mid-March. In Almeria city delinquency over the three-month period was down 12.3 per cent, in El Ejido 12.5 per cent, by 12.2 per cent in Roquetas de Mar, while in Nijar crime rates plummeted by a massive 32.9 per cent. The number of sexual offices decreased by 22 per cent, and there were 30 per cent less property break-ins. There was one kind of crime which went up though, and by a lot, the statistics reveal: drug offences. The extensive controls on movement to ensure compliance with the state of alarm restrictions had led to the discovery of a fair few stashes of marijuana, and a 30 per cent rise in this kind of crime.
THERE are not too many positives to come from the coronavirus crisis, but the enforced lockdown would appear to have led to less crime in Almeria. Interior Ministry figures show the provincial crime rate dropped by 13.3 per cent in the first quarter of the year, although the State of Alarm only came into force mid-March. In Almeria City delinquency over the three-month period was down 12.3 per cent, in El Ejido 12.5 per cent, by 12.2 per cent in Roquetas de Mar, while in Nijar crime rates plummeted by a massive 32.9 per cent. The number of sexual offences decreased by 22 per cent, and there were 30 per cent less property break-ins. There was one kind of crime which went up though, and by a lot, the statistics reveal: drug offences. The extensive controls on movement to ensure compliance with the State of Alarm restrictions had led to the discovery of a fair few stashes of marihuana, and a 30 per cent rise in this kind of crime.
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Cathy Elelman is the local writer for the Costa de Almeria edition of the Euro Weekly News.
Based in Mojacar for the last 21 years, Cathy is very much part of the local community and is always well and truly up on all the latest news and events going on in this region of Spain.
Her top goals are to do the best job she can informing the local English-speaking community, visitors to the area and the wider world about about the news in Almeria, to learn something new every day, and to embrace very new challenge this fast-changing world brings her way.
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