Overview
- Madrid activated a holiday security plan deploying 1,650 municipal officers—over 900 around cemeteries—plus drones at La Almudena and Sur-Carabanchel, longer opening hours and extra EMT buses.
- Servicios Funerarios de Madrid recorded 34 incidents in the past year, 68% tied to ornament thefts and 17% to vandalism, with officials noting likely underreporting because many families go straight to police.
- Policía Municipal arrested a father and son in September after finding 32 bronze crucifixes from several cemeteries in their car, underscoring the ongoing pattern of thefts.
- In a recent security commission, councillor Ignacio Benito urged broader drone use and a current photographic inventory to pinpoint missing items, proposals not yet implemented citywide.
- Separately, National Police are investigating a Friday-night shooting and suspected abduction in Carabanchel, with Group 12 leading the inquiry.