Crime in Madrid, Spain

Crime rates in Madrid, Spain

Level of crime
23.33 Low
Crime increasing in the past 3 years
49.71 Moderate
Worries home broken and things stolen
24.71 Low
Worries being mugged or robbed
26.42 Low
Worries car stolen
20.51 Low
Worries things from car stolen
30.40 Low
Worries attacked
20.78 Low
Worries being insulted
22.39 Low
Worries being subject to a physical attack because of your skin color, ethnic origin, gender or religion
16.20 Very Low
Problem people using or dealing drugs
35.49 Low
Problem property crimes such as vandalism and theft
34.44 Low
Problem violent crimes such as assault and armed robbery
21.36 Low
Problem corruption and bribery
48.72 Moderate

Safety in Madrid, Spain

Safety walking alone during daylight
87.44 Very High
Safety walking alone during night
71.43 High

Contributors: 615

Last update: September 2023

These data are based on perceptions of visitors of this website in the past 3 years.

If the value is 0, it means it is perceived as very low, and if the value is 100, it means it is perceived as very high.

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23 Comments so far
José on Jul 11, 2023:
My daughter spent the year in Madrid as an Erasmus student. No problem at all and she never felt insecure, even at night. I've been there time to time to visit her. The town seems very safe compared to what I know in France and in Belgium (specially Brussels). Of course, there are pickpockets, but probably less than in other major cities having a lot of tourists. I only visited the center of the city, so I cannot tell about the suburbs.
Fernando Marqée on Apr 10, 2023:
A lot of negative comments here are posted by soccer hooligans from other towns, just to discredit Madrid.

Madrid is considered one of the safest megacities in the world, compared to other cities with millions of inhabitants.

The chance of getting mugged or killed is like 30 times less than London, Paris, the US and especially South America.

Go visit Stockholm, Brussels, Berlin, or the south of Italy... you will find Madrid very safe in comparison.

In a couple of months Madrid will get new street cameras, and crime will go down even more.
Anonymous on Nov 16, 2022:
What the problem is there are no Street cameras and no cameras in the village or the town, this means murderers take advantage and make the crime look accidental and then disapear, like with a motorbike or quad bike, run people down and nobody knows, the traffik here is quite insanely risky, they park anywhere, mount pavements and speed around the countryside and the streets, once I Saw one mount steps in the town with a silent engine, It crept Up behind me, somebody came out of the house, I had a witness. In the countryside they try to scissor people, there could be Up to 5 motocross bikes. I swear It is like mad Max, one day I jumped in the River to hide from them, It was too Rocky for them, I had to stay there for an hour and I got bitten by a Spider, I hid un the brushes, they were looking for me.
TISH MARTINEZ on Oct 14, 2022:
My daughter lives in Madrid. I come every years to visit and am here as well for months staying. I live in the outskirts of Washington DC and Baltimore in the U.S. and anyone here saying that they wouldn’t live in Madrid due to crime really doesn’t know the city. Yes there may be areas that are not great, and yes you may get pick pocketed, but worried about getting killed, knocked off by some nut with a gun, nope. Please if you don’t believe me look up the violent crime rate and homicides here in Madrid verses the U.S. I walk the streets at any time here and am perfectly safe.
C on Sep 12, 2022:
Beautiful city and safe I went there with no problems at night in gran via lots of police presence
But be careful in the metro there are many thieves
Ricardo on Jun 27, 2022:
Madrid is a very safe city for how big it is, don't mind the people talking about "Moroccan gangs" or "Latin gangs" since it's a huge exaggeration, it's much safer than Barcelona or Valencia
Anonymous on Feb 18, 2022:
Very disapointed, we went Sevilla, Valencia and Barcelona. So nice cities, trouble free.

But in Madrid I had my wallet stolen by three moroquian teenagers in the downtown.

At the police station we had to qeue up 2 hours since it was plenty of tourists reporting thefts.

I cannot recommend Madrid.
Peter on Feb 16, 2022:
Madrid is nowadays the Spanish most dangerous city by far, with more kidnapped, killed and stabbed people than any other city.

Gangs of "macheteros" have taken over the city, so go to there at your own risk.
Anonymous on Feb 12, 2022:
Although Madrid is insecure, cities like Barcelona, ​​Girona or Bilbao are more insecure
Anonymous on Jan 29, 2022:
Don t go to Madrid...boring and so dangerous city.

attacks agains elderly people and women by moroccan youngsters... The government does not do anything and they victimize the collective. The people who complain are called racists. It's a popular word to use nowadays...
The society gives them rights but nor responsibilities. They give them money and assistance while they have a multiple crime history behind. It's like free pass for everything, since they are ''vulnerable colectives''. How about the elderly and women? We are being eaten by this rats.

Local people trying to work and be good citizens, but they cannot even afford rent nowadays. And the government encouraging the importation of problematic people that have little future in our society because their mindset is so rotten.

Nothing makes sense anymore...

Criminals are not being punished enough, and locals get fines by breaking some stupid rules such as laying on the sand or opening a bar terrace during covid.
JoséF on Jul 27, 2021:
For a city of its size, Madrid is safe; it's definitely safer than cities like Paris and London. There is an ample police presence, most cities are lively and full of people until the early hours of the morning, and Madrileños can be some of the nicest people you will ever meet.
However, pickpocketing is an issue (as it is in every major city nowadays), and certain hate crimes (especially against the LGBTQ community) are on the rise.
Anonymous on Jul 15, 2021:
in all of my twenty years living here i was never a victim of a crime myself, although hate crimes based on ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation are increasing
Shalomander on Jul 12, 2021:
Madrid has virtually NO violent crime. The only crime of that level (muggings) happens in Villaverde. The last person who commented that “Usera and Lavapies etc.” were dangerous is a liar. During my time in Madrid, I went to almost every area in Madrid, at night too, the only issues you may face as a tourist are scammers and pickpockets, the only gun crime that happens is in the outskirts of the city, but is still rare as the police are pretty effective. Madrid is by far SAFER THAN PARIS AND LONDON.
Madrid is also has the LOWEST MURDER RATE OF ANY EUROPEAN CITY OTHER THAN LISBOA.
Anonymous on Jun 28, 2021:
Please you should figure out smth before visiting Madrid:
- Madrid holds the largest drug market of Europe, which leads to very high violent crime rates.
- Madrid is the Spanish leading city in randon citizens being kidnapped take It very seriously.
- Leading city in street shootings and people stabbed in the street.
- It s the city with more "no go" áreas such as Usera, Casa de Campo, Batan, La Latina, Vallecas, Lavapiés, Ciudad Lineal. As you can ser An awful lotm
- There are street shootings by South América and African gangs, which doesn t happen in any other Spanish city.

To sum up Madrid is where you have more chances of getting injured.

Go there at your own risk and venture.
Margaret on Jun 28, 2021:
We visited Sevilla, Santiago and Barcelona, Madrid was the most dangerous by far.

so unsafe city, the downtown is taken over by africans, my friend had to give over all his belonguins.

I can´t recommend.
Anonymous on Jun 04, 2021:
Very safe. 2nd lowest Murder Rate in Europe. In response to people who have been victims of crime, crimes often increase during tourist season (Summer) due to influx of tourists, and most crime is committed by Tourists against other tourists. During other seasons (in downtown at least) violent crime is pretty Low and virtually non existent.
JoeyF on May 31, 2021:
I am quite baffled by some of the comments made on Madrid. I am not Spanish, but lived in Madrid for some time and still go there very often, so I have a good viewpoint on the capital of Spain.

Madrid is one of the safest cities not just in Spain, but in Europe. In a day and age where cities like Paris, London, Berlin, and Brussels are seeing their image deteriorate because of crime, pickpocketing, and decay, Madrid manages to remain a place where one does

Is it a perfect city? Absolutely not. Are there areas where you need to be careful? Absolutely. But compared to other major cities, I am always in awe at how Madrid manages to remain safe and welcoming. Maybe there are benefits in nàot being a tourist-magnet and over glorified euro-las vegas.

Now, a special message to Aart Geldof: I noticed that you accused people from madrid of being jealous (had to correct you there) and that there were more "western expats" in Barcelona. My response: And? Madrid also has a large "European expat community", but it's much more than that: it's a multicultural city with immigrants from places as diverse as China, Latin America, Morocco, Turkey, Romania, Portugal etc. Barcelona is a great city, but in terms of ethnic diversity Madrid is a true melting pot.
Aart Geldof on Aug 12, 2020:
No go place.

My wife was pushed to
the ground and has her wallet and passport stolen

I can t recommend
Anonymous on Aug 12, 2020:
So unsafe city, we were calling at Sevilla, Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona, all quite safe and I can recommend but Madrid.

Gangs of so called "macheteros" coming grom South America and Morocco have taken over a sizeable share of areas of the city, a friend of us was stabbed in the very down town so WATCH OUT!
Anonymous on Feb 03, 2020:
Good grief, we live in Madrid. It is shockingly safe. No guns, people are calm, the drivers are extremely careful because pedestrians are everywhere in crosswalks. People
mind their own business. There ARE pickpockets that are pros, so in crowds you just need to keep track of your stuff. But to highlight the difference between the violent U.S.
and Madrid/Spain, we were in a little hamburger joint the other day and a homeless drug addict walked in, looked behind the counter, opened the kitchen door and grabbed the box of money. The woman in the kitchen saw him, told him forcefully, to put it back, while waiving her finger at him. He stopped, turned around and brought it back to her. Another example, we were on the train the other day and three 20 yr olds with tattoos,very rough looking, were standing at the door waiting for the train to stop to get off and when we stood up and came near the door, they immediately stepped back to let the “mayores” (old people) have priority (I’m early 50s, hubby 60 but young and in good shape, we aren’t disabled or anything). My husband said “no, no, it’s ok” in Spanish and they smiled and said no no you go. At which point I joked about the fact we must be mayores! The young guys broke out warm grins from ear to ear. There is a kindness and value placed on human health, safety and respect that is not equaled in the gun infused United States that has lousy to no healthcare for so many. I’m daily amazed at how hard life is in the US compared to here. We have not been in the areas here that might be a bit more seedy, but even those areas, no guns.
A on Jan 02, 2020:
A very safe city from an American standpoint. I never got robbed or anything, and always kept my eye out for any pickpockets. The metro is great, the food is great, and the nightlife is wonderful. I plan on going again this summer
Sophie on Sep 23, 2019:
We had our belonguins stolen by pickpockets.

In our way back home, other travellers in the plane told us they were mugged.

Avoid Madrid at any cost.
Victor on Sep 05, 2019:
My wife and me were mugged in Madrid, general perception of lack of safety even in highstreet, can't be considered ad a safe place.