Lorraine Williamson
The latest half-yearly figures for 2025 paint a mixed picture of crime in Alicante province. Overall offences are up 4.7% compared with the same period last year, driven by spikes in cybercrime, sexual violence, and kidnappings. Yet the impact is uneven: larger cities and coastal resorts are seeing more trouble, while several smaller municipalities remain among the safest places to live in the region.
Population growth, tourist influx and the increasing vulnerability of residents to online fraud all shape the statistics. In coastal cities that swell dramatically in summer, police forces face higher pressure, while quieter inland towns often record far fewer incidents.
Hotspots: Torrevieja and Alicante city
Torrevieja tops the provincial list for crime rates, with five offences per 100 residents. Authorities recorded 4,819 incidents in just six months — a 12.3% rise, fuelled mainly by theft and street crime. The seasonal boom in population is a clear factor.
Alicante city is not far behind, with 13,258 offences, or 3.6 per 100 inhabitants. Theft and cybercrime dominate the figures, while sexual assaults and group violence are also on the rise. By contrast, murders and drug-related cases have shown slight declines.
Surge in cybercrime in Spain
Other municipalities showing higher-than-average rates include Benidorm, Calpe, Pilar de la Horadada and Santa Pola. Elche, the province’s third-largest city, sits in the middle ground with two crimes per 100 inhabitants and only a marginal year-on-year increase of 1.9%.
Where life is quieter
By contrast, towns such as Petrer and Villena are emerging as safe havens. Petrer, home to around 34,000 people, registered just 442 incidents — barely 1.3 per 100 residents. Villena’s figures are similar, at 1.87 per 100. Low rates were also reported in Mutxamel, Ibi, Novelda and Alcoy.
Towns bucking the trend
Several areas have recorded drops in crime. Jávea stands out with a 9.6% fall, logging 824 offences. Declines have also been noted in Benidorm, Calpe, Alcoy, Petrer, Santa Pola and Villajoyosa.
Elsewhere, though, numbers are moving in the opposite direction. Mutxamel and Novelda lead the surge, with crime up 19.1% and 18.5% respectively. In Altea, sexual crimes have quadrupled, while El Campello has seen burglaries soar by 165%. Cybercrime, meanwhile, is climbing almost everywhere.
A province of contrasts
Alicante’s 2025 crime map underscores the gap between booming tourist hubs and more settled inland towns. For residents and visitors alike, the figures highlight both growing risks — particularly online fraud and sexual violence — and the resilience of communities that remain largely untouched by rising crime.
Source: El Periodico