The 2022 crime landscape in Alicante shows a notable rise across several categories, as reported by the Interior Ministry. Overall, crimes increased, with cyber breaches and fraud leading the surge. Computer-related offenses rose sharply by more than sixty percent, while fraud grew by about a third. The provincial trend mirrors a broader regional pattern, as the Valencia Community posted higher growth than the national average in the same period.
Across the Valencian Community, crime rose by 18.8 percent, and within Valencia itself the increase reached 16.8 percent. Security forces tallied 94,363 crimes for the year, up from 78,916 in the previous year. When viewed against 2019, the increase is more modest, at around 7.3 percent, reflecting the pandemic’s impact on crime dynamics and the gradual normalization in the years that followed. This comparison helps place 2022 in a longer context, showing both the year-over-year change and its relationship to pre-pandemic levels.
Crimes involving sexual freedom saw a significant uptick. They rose by 18.3 percent, totaling 897 cases, with sexual assault and penetration accounting for 161 of those offenses, marking a 62.6 percent increase in that subcategory. Within this broad group, violations tied to sexual offenses became one of the strongest growth drivers in 2022, while cybercrime asserted itself as the second most rapidly growing domain. There were 13,067 cybercrime cases, comprising 11,271 computer scams, which marked a 29 percent rise from 2021 and a 34.6 percent increase from the pandemic year. The surge in computer scams stood in stark contrast to divisions showing more modest gains, underscoring the shift in criminal activity toward digital targets.
The expansion of computer scams was particularly pronounced when compared with 2019, showing an increase of roughly 119 percent as the region recovered from the pandemic era. In the overall crime map, deliberate killings and attempted murders also moved higher, increasing by about 20 percent to reach 12 incidents in the province. Violent offenses connected to enterprise activities rose as well, adding 52 instances of more serious violence, and injuries and riot-related cases climbed to levels not seen in the immediate post-pandemic years. In total, 1,137 individuals were recorded as victims, reflecting a 29.5 percent rise from 2021 and a 47.7 percent increase from 2019, illustrating how violence and related offenses persisted as a concern into 2022.
The interior ministry’s accounting also shows five kidnappings in Alicante during the year, with violent and intimidation robberies reaching 1,583 cases. This category grew by 30.6 percent relative to the previous year, yet remained 4.4 percent below pre-pandemic figures. Home and business robberies followed a similar pattern, totaling 7,037 incidents and rising 11.2 percent compared with 2021, while still showing a notable decline versus 2019 by about 16.6 percent.
Vehicle-related crime saw its own shifts. Vehicle thefts stood at 1,204 incidents, while general thefts climbed to 24,285, representing increases of 24.3 percent and 31.4 percent, respectively. These numbers reflect a broader trend in the region where property crime became more visible as daily life gradually returned to normal after the disruption of the previous years. In parallel, drug trafficking remained a focal point for law enforcement efforts, with 961 crimes linked to drug networks recorded, a modest rise that underscored ongoing enforcement challenges in the area.
Looking at the wider picture, Valencia province logged a 15.2 percent rise in 2022 with a total of 143,090 crimes, while Castellón province saw a 16.2 percent increase with 25,772 offenses. Taken together, the data highlight that while Alicante experienced substantial growth in several crime categories tied to digital fraud and sexual offenses, the Valencia region overall faced a sustained upward trajectory across multiple indicators, reflecting evolving regional security dynamics and the ongoing need for targeted policing and community safety initiatives.