COVID-19 causes an increase in burglaries in Spanish coastal homes

The coronavirus pandemic has changed many things in Spain, and among these, crime patterns on the Spanish coast. This is demonstrated by the report 'Burglaries in insured homes. Data 2019-2020', recently prepared by Estamos Seguros, the initiative to promote the insurance culture launched by UNESPA, the Spanish Association of Insurance and Reinsurance Institutions. This study analyses burglaries perpetrated in insured homes in Spain between 1st August 2019 and 31st July 2020. Its conclusion is clear: burglars have gone to the beach because of the measures deployed by the authorities in the wake of the health crisis, meaning that COVID-19 has caused an increase in burglaries in Spanish coastal homes.

Burglary trends in Spain in 2020

According to this report by Estamos Seguros, the coronavirus spring confinement in 2020 and the restrictions on travel established to contain the pandemic have forced criminals to focus their attention on second homes, usually located on the Spanish coast. During this period, burglars tended to ignore properties located in city centres as they were aware that, as they are habitual residences, their owners would almost certainly be found there.

The study analyses the data provided by 27 insurance companies that protect 11.8 million dwellings located in Spain. The information it offers is the result of analysing 78,000 burglaries that occurred in properties during the 12 months between the summer of 2019 and 2020.

A glance at the distribution of incidents over this period shows how burglaries, which in 2019 followed the usual pattern of an upturn during the summer and Christmas holidays, fell sharply during the spring. The reason: the COVID-19 lockdown which was put in place on 14th March in Spain last year.

Distribution of burglaries in Spain

The proof of the change in the behaviour of burglars is the territorial distribution of burglaries. Practically all the provinces where the probability of being robbed is higher than Spain as a whole are on the coast. More specifically, on the Mediterranean coast. This is the case of Gerona, Tarragona, Barcelona, Murcia to name but a few. If any inland territory appears among the first places in the ranking, it is because they are provinces close to Madrid where second homes are also abundant (including Toledo and Guadalajara).

Particularly noteworthy is the decrease in incidents in the Community of Madrid. In previous editions of this report, Madrid has always displayed a high probability of residential burglaries. This has changed radically. The region has been significantly below the national average in the 12 months analysed. In the Basque Country, something similar has occurred, although less markedly, due to the evolution of Guipúzcoa and Álava.

In the list of municipalities where it is easiest to suffer a burglary at home in Spain in 2021, there is an abundance of towns located on the coast. In fact, almost all of them are located in Catalonia on the Costa Brava. They include Gerona, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona, Mataró, Reus, Badalona, Santa Coloma de Gramanet, Murcia, Rubí and Torrevieja. The beach has acted as a magnet for burglars in the few months in which the owners of second homes had legal impediments and were not able to enjoy their holiday homes. We must not lose sight of the fact that these obstacles (border closures, quarantines, etc.) have affected both national and foreign property owners in Spain.

Average compensation for burglaries in Spain

The Estamos Seguros study reveals how, in 2020, the cost of thefts may have also worsened, in other words, burglers have been able to steal more or higher value goods. According to the report, the average compensation paid by an insurer in Spain as a result of theft was 1,333 euros in the 12 months analysed. The most serious incidents occurred in the provinces of Barcelona, Gerona, Pontevedra, Lérida and Navarra. In all these cases, they range between 1,600 and 1,700 euros.

While a burglar who breaks into a flat in a city tries to act quickly to avoid being discovered by neighbours and takes valuables that are not very bulky, burglaries of holiday homes and isolated residences usually involve higher compensation. In such cases, offenders have more time to operate without fear of being caught. This pattern is evident when looking at the cost of burglaries by municipality.

The ranking of the cost of burglaries by area is led by Pozuelo de Alarcón (2,602 euros), a Madrid municipality known for its high average per capita income and abundance of villas. Other prominent positions are occupied by Marbella (2,504 euros), a Malaga tourist destination of reference on the Costa del Sol for high purchasing power tourism; as well as Alcobendas (2,333 euros), in Madrid, and Sant Cugat del Vallès (2,258 euros) in Barcelona. The latter two are locations where, like Pozuelo, there are prominent high-income housing estates.

At the other end of the spectrum are areas with a modest socio-economic profile and where, in marked urbanistic contrast, there is an abundance of high-rise housing. In other words, blocks full of neighbours. These are Cádiz, Parla, Leganés, Alcorcón and Melilla. In all these localities, the average theft is below 600 euros.

Other incidents during the pandemic

Although home burglaries in main residences have decreased as a result of travel restrictions, the continued presence of people in their homes during lockdown has led to an increase in requests for help from home insurance, including leaks, electrical problems or other issues. In the first half of 2020, insurers resolved 3.6 million issues in homes in Spain, which is 5.59% more than in the first 6 months of the previous year.

It is worth noting that this trend of thefts on the coast also occurs in another phenomenon: squatters, known in Spain as "okupas". In this case, the confinement of the population caused by COVID-19 led to an increase in this illegal activity in second homes during this period (the vast majority once again located on the Spanish coast). This is a practice that was detected last year during the 2 months prior to the start of summer and that the situation generated by the coronavirus worsened in 2020, according to police sources consulted by idealista/news.