Silvia Fuentes is the chief inspector of the National Police's robberies squad in Palma. From speaking with colleagues from other units, she says that Palma is a safe city, with crime rates much lower than in other cities in the rest of Spain.
"Palma has never been an excessively challenging city. We are an island and the entrance and exit of thieves is quite controlled. When we come across a wave of unusual thefts, the perpetrators are foreigners." On the island itself, the police know who the thieves are, and they know the police. "This, without any doubt, helps us solve many cases."
A general crime profile is that most petty theft is committed by Spanish nationals. "We have almost all of them on file. These are repeat offenders in most cases." The more professional thieves are foreign, and they are characterised by their specialities. For example, breaking and entering on a ground or first floor is most typical of burglars from South America. Spanish drug addicts typically rob easy targets, like shops. "Quick money to immediately buy drugs."
While comparatively safe, she says that the level of crime in Palma towards the end of last year and at the start of this year is more or less back to where it was before the pandemic. "During 2020 and 2021 because of the state of alarm and the situation in the succeeding months, criminal activity plummeted throughout Spain."