The cost of violence against Police and Guardia Civil officers totals more than 400 million euros

The costs generated by situations of violence faced by Police and Civil Guard officers result in a total of 417,154,281 million euros in 2021. This figure is broken down into three parameters: 28,066,569 million in physical harm to officers; 41,138,112 million in the administration of justice; and 347,949,600 million in police investigations. 

These are the results of a multidisciplinary study led by Luis A. García Segura, coordinator of the Nebrija-Santander Global Chair in Risk and Conflict Management (Nebrija University) and sponsored by Axon, the leading public safety technology company in its sector. "Violence against Police and Guardia Civil officers in Spain generates hundreds of millions of euros in direct costs to the State that could be further clarified and detailed by our state agencies," says García Segura. 

The study "The cost of violence against Police and Guardia Civil officers in Spain", therefore, deals with the estimation of the financial costs incurred by the Spanish State, directly as a result of the violent situations faced by police and Guardia Civil officers. Every time an act of violence occurs against one of these agents, "it triggers a series of events and actions, where the Spanish public administration, at its different levels, has to intervene. This intervention, depending on the seriousness of the events, can last hours, days, months or years, generating a hitherto unknown economic cost to the public coffers," the study reflects. 

Based on the methodology and results obtained by the Brandenburg Institute for Society and Security (BIGS Potsdam) in its report "Costs of violence against police forces", directed by Johannes Rieckmann and published in October 2020, the Nebrija University study is a starting point for a "much more detailed and conscious scrutiny by our political and social authorities" of the administration of public funds in their charge, with regard to the groups of police officers (National Police and the autonomous bodies of Madrid, Catalonia, the Basque Country and Navarre) and the Guardia Civil. 

176,000 officers 

Direct consultation of sources such as open data from the Statistical System of Criminality, managed by the Ministry of the Interior, reports, studies and interviews with the officers themselves and other representatives of groups of interest constitute the core of the study, which has taken into account 176,404 police and Civil Guard officers, with an average daily salary of 104.49 euros. "In some cases, given the lack of direct publication by the organisations themselves on their websites, we have resorted to journalistic or trade union sources to provide us with the documentation directly. This situation highlights the need for the authorities to start producing their own statistics and periodic reports, in order to contribute to transparency and the right to public information, as happens in other countries around the world," says Luis A. García Segura.  

On the block of physical harm to officers - the physical, psychological and mental sequelae that violent attacks leave on officers - the Nebrija University and Axon report determines that there were 10,264 cases of aggression with 3,794,400 euros in ambulatory health costs to the injured, 4,742,169 euros in costs of sick days and 19,530,000 euros in health costs for permanently injured. 70 % of the so-called "crimes of attacks against the authority, its agents and public officials, and of resistance and disobedience" corresponds to assaults on police officers. 

1,240 officers were on sick leave, 12% of the total number of those assaulted, with an average duration of 36.6 days, which is equivalent to an average of 3,824 euros (4,742,169 euros in total). 186 officers each year suffer permanent damage. 

With regard to the second variable, the coffers spent 26,255,312 euros on administration of justice costs and 14,882,800 euros on legal costs. 

Finally, in the section on police investigations, the study registers 33,900 euros per investigated or arrested person, and 347,949,600 euros for those investigated and arrested in the 10,264 cases of aggression. 

The study also cites indirect costs that could not be quantified, such as loss of human lives and civilian injuries, property damage, lack of police manpower and presence on the street, increased workload for other staff when their colleagues are on sick leave, and prison system costs.