Three municipalities, three trends
Crime has evolved very differently during the first half of 2026 in the three most populous municipalities of Marina Alta, according to the Interior Ministry's Crime Balance, which compares reported incidents between January and June with those from the same period in 2025.
- Calp recorded 847 criminal offences, compared to 959 the previous year: 112 fewer, a fall of 11.7%. It was the municipality in the Alicante comarcas that most reduced its volume of crime.
- Dénia counted 1,159 offences, 46 fewer than in 2025 (1,205), representing a drop of 3.8%.
- Xàbia went in the opposite direction: from 823 to 883 offences, 60 more, with an increase of 7.3%.
From one quarter to the next
First quarter data already pointed in that direction, although with more extreme figures. Between January and March, Calp had recorded the largest percentage fall of all Alicante municipalities with more than 20,000 residents, with 17.6% fewer offences, whilst Xàbia registered one of the most striking increases in the province, also 17.6%. Dénia, at that time, grew by 2.3%.
With the full half-year, the trend persists but moderates: Calp continues to fall, Dénia has moved from rising to falling, and Xàbia's increase has been cut to less than half.
In the context of the province
The behaviour of the comarca contrasts with that of other large Alicante municipalities. In the same half-year, crime grew by 4.6% in Alicante, 2.4% in Elche and 15.4% in Benidorm, whilst it fell by 9.4% in Torrevieja and 7% in Orihuela. Xàbia's rise, whilst notable, fell below that of municipalities such as Almoradí, Sant Joan d'Alacant, l'Alfàs del Pi or Benidorm.
Across the Valencian Community, conventional crime increased by 3.7% in the first half, whilst cybercrime fell by 1.7%.
How to read the figures
The Crime Balance records criminal offences reported to the security forces and bodies, that is, crimes reported or detected, and only provides disaggregated data for municipalities with more than 20,000 residents. The figures do not account for the floating population, which in tourist municipalities such as those in Marina Alta multiplies during high season, so the figures should be interpreted with caution, especially where absolute variations are small.
