Official statistics confirm the high levels of security in the province with a practically stable crime in the first semester

The province of Pontevedra recorded a positive evolution in the statistics on security in the first half of this year 2024. Crime remains at the same levels as in the same period last year, as evidenced by the negligible rise, significantly below 0.1%, in the number of illegal acts. The deputy delegate of the Government, Abel Losada, presided over the Provincial Security Xunta in which took part the provincial chief commissioner, Juan José Díaz; the colonel of the Civil Guard Command, Simón Venzal, and the captain of the Traffic Subsector, Antonio Piteira.
Between January 1 and June 30, 15,825 prison offenses were recorded for 15,819 of the same period last year. “We are still a province with high safety standards; the figures are what they are, even though it sometimes seems that the right and the extreme right are bothered by this data and intend to paint catastrophic visions in the style of Mad Max, as Mr. Feijoo has just done.” The subdelegate called for “less demagogy and more responsibility” when analysing sensitive issues, which create social alert, but which are objectively quantifiable.
Data from the National Police (Commissariats of Pontevedra, Vigo-Redonda, Vilagarcía and Marín) indicate a slight increase of 2.1% in crimes. On the other hand, the data of the Civil Guard, which covers the rural territory of the province, indicates a slight decrease of 2.6%. As usual, cybercrime is the worst evolving criminal specialty, especially in the urban area where there is a 309% increase (going from 289 complaints to 1,148 when comparing semesters). Losada insisted on asking for “prudence and responsibility” in purchases and monetary operations on the Internet “which, second, the data demonstrate, are becoming a problem of the first magnitude, but we must not forget that there is also a component of personal responsibility of the victims”, so we must insist on the recommendations to make safe transactions and only to suppliers of goods and services duly verified.
The deputy delegate also stressed that the Security Forces and Corps come from dismantling a Croatian gang that carried out robberies with force in the homes and there are also arrests in the province of Ourense of people related to crimes against property in our province, so there is confidence that this type of events, often cyclical, will decrease.
In the Xunta Provincial de Seguridad it was also analyzed that we face the months of July and August, “the worst time of the year” due to the impact of tourism, “but the starting point in which this year goes is, objectively, good,” stressed Losada.
Concern for motorcycle users
The most negative data are those that arrive from the roads, since Traffic has registered 17 people who have died so far this year, against 12 in the first half of last year. In addition, 9 of those people were motorcyclists, confirming a trend that is being observed in recent years. In fact, the number of motorcycles involved in accidents continues to grow, from 103 in the first half of last year to 110. There were also two people who died while walking on the roads during the night.
Abel Losada announced that a specific campaign is going to be launched in the province aimed at motorcycle riders and that it is going to be repeated both in motorcycle concentrations and our routine speed checks, with the distribution of information material of his own.
The number of accidents is also growing, reaching 1,984 total accidents so far this year, compared to 1,731 in the past. On the other hand, the number of positive patients in blood alcohol fell (2,281 compared to 2,745 last year), while the number of positive patients due to drug use rose (1,221 compared to 1,057).
Another very worrying fact that was exposed during the Xunta de Seguridad is the number of people caught driving without a driving license (for never having obtained it or for being expired) and that it reached 38 cases and that, although they are less than 52 in the first half of last year, there are still many, said the deputy delegate. In addition, 123 other people were surprised driving without points or with the license withdrawn by court order, compared to 197 in the first half of last year.