Moroccan Inmates Top Foreign Prison Population in Spain, Report Shows

Foreign inmates in Spain number 18,627, or more than 30% of the total prison population. Among them, 5,471 Moroccan prisoners, the most represented nationality. The total foreign population had fallen by 31.4% since 2009, the year the foreign prison population reached 27,162 inmates, or 35.9% of the total, the report from the department of Fernando Grande-Marlaska states. When reducing the figure to the period from 2017 to August 2024, foreign inmates went from 28.1% to 31.6%, reports El Español. Spaniards total 40,315, or 68.4% of the total. In 2023, of the 947 additional inmates the Spanish prison system has recorded compared to the previous year, 935 were foreigners, compared to only 12 of Spanish nationality. A striking figure.

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What about statistics by region? With 50.48% of the total prisoners as of June 30, 2024, Catalonia has the highest percentage of foreign inmates, according to statistics from the Department of Justice of the Generalitat. The nationality with the largest number of prisoners is Moroccan, with 1,582 of the 8,505 total inmates in the region, or 18.6% of the total. It is also the most represented nationality after Spanish nationality. In Catalonia, 28.34% of inmates in pre-trial detention are foreigners, while Spaniards represent only 14.43%.

"The type of offender has changed a lot, as there are more and more foreigners," says Roberto, spokesperson for the Catalan prison officers’ association Marea Blava, noting that coexistence problems in prisons have also increased. Experienced prison officers have noticed a significant change in the composition of the foreign prison population "between the 1990s and 2000s and now," Roberto reports. He elaborates. "In Catalonia, more than half of the prisoners are foreigners, and this results in more difficult coexistence in prisons," he asserts. In this region, assaults on officers have tripled in seven years, from 202 in 2017 to 577 in 2023, it is specified.

Some nationalities are "more problematic than others in prison," notes Roberto. As an example, he cites Moroccans, Algerians or Georgians who are more inclined not to accept orders from female officers, or to maintain habits that go against prison regulations. "The male staff also has problems, because some inmates of certain nationalities have their own norms and criteria, for example, when it comes to not respecting hygiene obligations. They say no directly, which adds conflicts," he recounts.

Roberto fears the increase in the percentage of foreign inmates in Spain, not because of supposed uncontrolled immigration, but rather because of organized crime: "It is not up to us to say it, but with the current Penal Code, there are many foreign criminal organizations that have settled in Spain, which is decisive for there to be more and more prisoners coming from other countries".