The Urban Guard has processed 17,461 complaints for incivility between February and June, a 32.7% decrease from last year. However, fines for littering the public road have increased by 310% and those for urinating have risen by 15%.
The new civility ordinance in Barcelona, in effect since mid-February, is showing its first results with mixed figures. While the total number of complaints for incivility has fallen by 32.7% compared to the same period last year, fines for behaviours that litter the street have skyrocketed. This was presented on Wednesday by the Commissioner for Coexistence, Montserrat Surroca, accompanied by the Chief of the Urban Guard, Benito Granados.
Between February 15 and June 30, 2026, the Urban Guard has recorded 17,461 complaints, compared to 25,956 in the same period of 2025. Of these, 11,557 have resulted in fines and in 259 cases the offender has opted for alternative measures, a 169.8% increase from the previous year. Surroca and Granados agreed that the decrease is not due to less police activity, but rather a reorientation of officers towards strategic infractions that bother residents the most.
The most notable increase is in complaints for littering the public road, which have risen from 414 to 1,698, a 310.1% increase. The City Council attributes this rise to new tools that allow for better detection and sanctioning of practices that degrade public space. Complaints for urinating in the street have also risen by 15.2%, from 2,722 to 3,136. The ordinance includes aggravated cases, such as urinating or defecating near public establishments or next to open public toilets, which increase the fine.
Another category that has grown spectacularly is the "improper use of public space," which includes making noise in children's play areas: complaints have surged by 1,000%, from 43 to 481. In contrast, the main decrease is seen in street alcohol consumption, which has dropped from 18,015 to 6,830 complaints, a 62.1% decrease. The council explains that the old ordinance was outdated and did not comply with the 2015 Citizen Security Law, which only allows fines if consumption causes proven harm, such as mass drinking or incitement to minors.
With the new regulation, two previous grounds for complaints have been eliminated, and infractions linked to the effective disruption of coexistence have been introduced, with much higher fines. Thus, 6,504 generic complaints for alcohol consumption have been filed, 165 for consumption in groups of three or more people with a risk of mass consumption, 36 in noise-protected areas, and 42 in spaces frequented by minors. Granados acknowledged that "there must have been a certain inflation" in the previous number of complaints for drinking, which were often reduced to 25 euros if paid immediately and "were not deterrent." Now a fine of 1,250 euros encourages a change in habits or to request validation through a civility course. "Our goal is not for them to pay, but to stop doing it," he emphasised.
The officials have acknowledged that the analysed period "is relatively short to draw very clear conclusions" and that part of the forces have had to be allocated to the security of major spring events. Nevertheless, they believe that the application of the ordinance "is on the right track." For the residents of Barcelona, the evolution of these figures will have a direct impact on the perception of cleanliness and order in public space.
The new civility ordinance, resulting from a reform of the 2006 regulation that was long negotiated among municipal parties, aims to adapt the regulation to the current reality of the city. The coming months will be crucial to assess whether the trends consolidate or if, on the contrary, adjustments in the sanctioning strategy are required.
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