ESTEPONA, long considered one of the quieter corners of the Costa del Sol, has seen crime rise sharply in the first half of 2025.
The Ministry of Interior’s Balance de Criminalidad report shows that the town recorded 2,783 offences between January and June. That marks a 20.4% jump compared with the same period last year.
The increase is driven mainly by conventional crime, which climbed by almost 23%.
One of the most striking figures is in sexual offences. While overall cases rose by 14.3%, assaults with penetration more than doubled, soaring by 133.3%.
Other offences also saw sharp rises. Vehicle thefts were up nearly 69%, while drug trafficking grew by more than 30%.
By contrast, robberies with violence dropped by almost 40%, and burglaries fell by 17.5%.
The pattern is very different in other parts of the Costa del Sol.
In Málaga city, overall crime remained stable at 17,945 cases. Burglaries were down by more than 20%, and thefts fell by 5.6%. But serious violent crime told another story, with attempted homicides jumping from 8 to 14, a rise of 75%.
Marbella, another popular resort, saw only a modest 2.2% rise in total crime. Conventional offences stayed flat, but cybercrime surged by 15%.
Sexual offences fell by 11.8%, with assaults involving penetration down by a third.
The data highlights how trends differ even between neighbouring towns.
Across the province of Málaga, overall crime was up just 1.3%, driven by the same factors seen nationally: rising cybercrime and isolated serious incidents, alongside declines in thefts and drug trafficking.
But in Estepona, the surge across multiple categories suggests a more worrying trend.
For a town often praised for its tranquility, the numbers paint a very different picture.
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