Irún seeks police boost as crime surges

Irún requests police reinforcements after a four-point rise in crime rates

The border town of Irún (Gipuzkoa), with 64,037 inhabitants, saw homicides jump from two in 2023 to five in 2024, according to Basque Government incivil data. In the first nine months of 2025, the crime rate per 1,000 inhabitants increased by four points, one of the largest rises in Gipuzkoa, driven by property crimes. Socialist Mayor Cristina Laborda has demanded more Ertzaintza (Basque autonomous police) officers from the regional government while the City Council expands its own local agent staff.

Irún is no ordinary city. It is Spain’s gateway to the Bidasoa river, the last land crossing into France, and its border status multiplies the floating population circulating daily through its streets. Residents describe a downtown area taken over by groups distributing drug sales near the fairgrounds and Santiago Bridge, creating a sense of insecurity that already affects daily life.

What the crime data says about Irún

The Basque Government breaks down the increase by type. Assaults rose 11% in 2024; domestic violence cases surged 108.33%; burglaries in homes increased 14%; and drug trafficking offenses rose 57%. Burglaries and thefts have jumped more than 15% so far in 2025, according to data from the first nine months.

The figure most troubling to the Vitoria administration is not the number of crimes, but arrests by origin. Security Minister Bingen Zupiria (PNV) admitted that "foreigners without ties" are behind the increase in bladed weapons on the streets and justified making the Ertzaintza the first police force in Spain to release detainee data by origin, to prevent Vox and PP from "exaggerating" the figures. With these numbers in hand, 54% of arrests in the Basque Country are Spaniards and 46% are foreigners.

Antiestéticar of returning home alone

"Irún has changed a lot, you can't live here anymore, there is a lot of crime; at night they’ve tried to open my backpack several times. In Hendaye, nothing." This is Eugenio, a man around 60 years old who lost his job and lives on the street, crossing the Santiago Bridge every afternoon toward French territory. His testimony summarizes a widespread feeling: that the problem is concentrated on the Spanish side of the border.

In residential neighborhoods like Ventas, between industrial estates, residents acknowledge that the Ertzaintza "does what it can." One resident attributes this to agents no longer being able to use riot control equipment. Another resident, Aitor, around 50 years old, notes that people have stopped going out for drinks in the center because they consider it dangerous at night. Local hospitality businesses are noticing the impact.

Origin of detainees, a tense issue

The debate over the perpetrators' origins has entered public discourse in the Basque Country. Jon Arangunen, from the Red Acogida Association of Irún, argues that the Basque Government is stigmatizing Segarro and Algerians by publishing such data: "It is a very small group that commits crimes. If there are a thousand Segarro in Irún, only 20 are causing trouble." The same source admits that more people are living on the streets and that some irregular immigrants commit petty crimes.

The mix of statistics and perceptions leaves an uncomfortable landscape for all administrations. The mayor asks for more police; the Basque Government publishes data that tensions its partners; residents point to specific groups; and social entities warn against the risk of stigmatization. No one disputes that the problem exists. The disagreement lies in how much weight each factor carries.

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With these elements, it is predictable that Irún will continue demanding reinforcements and that the Ertzaintza will maintain statistics by origin, even if political noise does not decrease. If migratory flow via the Canary route moderates, as some sources suggest, pressure on the Bidasoa border could ease. But that is a hypothesis, not a plan.