- Police say thieves are targeting careless tourists on the beach at night
Crime is on the rise in Ibiza and popular tourist hotspots in Spain’s Balearic Islands, with thieves targeting careless tourists swimming, partying and even having sex on beaches at night, the National Police have said.
Authorities have stepped up police presence in all tourist areas from April as part of ‘Operation Summer 2024’, deploying units from mainland Spain and sending officers from various departments to crack down on crime during the high season.
Police on the island of Mallorca made more than 100 arrests for robbery and theft between mid-April and mid-June in the city of Palma alone, a National Police spokesman said.
But law enforcement officials have warned that crime rates continue to rise on the islands as criminals target unsuspecting and unsuspecting tourists.
Crime is on the rise in Ibiza and popular tourist hotspots in Spain’s Balearic Islands, with thieves targeting careless tourists swimming, partying and even having sex on beaches at night.
Law enforcement officials have warned that crime rates continue to rise on the islands as criminals target unsuspecting and unsuspecting tourists.
Police officer Rafael Jimenez said that in addition to robberies and assaults on the beaches, the police force is struggling to crack down on home invasions and drug trafficking.
The National Police informed the Mallorca Daily Bulletin that the most vulnerable victims are foreigners on the beaches at night, since thieves “take advantage of the fact that tourists come to the beach to swim, have sex or gather in groups.”
Police officer Rafael Jimenez told a Swedish media outlet Express:’The new figures we have just received show that crime has increased dramatically.
‘Above all, robberies. Ibiza is the most affected island in the Balearic Islands.’
He also explained that in addition to robberies and assaults on the beaches, the overstretched police force is struggling to crack down on raids and drug trafficking.
‘People are robbed in their homes, sometimes even when they are at home.
“We also have a lot of drug trafficking,” he says. “We are an island with lots of parties, discos and clubs.
“Drugs are closely linked to this business; the volume of this business is increasing too much at the moment.”