The Mas d'Enric prison in Tarragona has registered a significant decrease in the intervention of handmade bladed weapons during the last year. Official figures place the total number of seized objects at 108 units in 2025, a notable reduction compared to the historical peak reached in the previous year.
The penitentiary center maintains its position as the third with the highest number of searches within the Catalan system. This classification reflects the intensity of internal controls rather than a real increase in violence among inmates.
The upward trend breaks after the 2024 record
The data from the Catalan Penitentiary Information System (SIPC) show an irregular evolution in the last five years. Mas d'Enric registered 170 seizures in 2024, consolidating that period as the one with the highest detected activity. The breakdown of that figure reveals that 110 corresponded to sharp objects and 60 to cutting elements.
This escalation contrasts with previous records. The center accumulated 85 interventions in 2020, dropped to 56 in 2021, rebounded to 112 in 2022, and closed 2023 with 83 objects removed from circulation. The drop to 108 in 2025 marks a change in trend after the historic maximum.
The nature of these artifacts is far from conventional weapons. Inmates manufacture most using hardened plastics, metal fragments extracted from facilities, or everyday utensils modified to cause harm. This improvisation makes them difficult to detect with standard scanners.
The prison system's global impact reduces interventions
The dynamics of Mas d'Enric are partly replicated in the Catalan prison system as a whole. The total number of weapons seized in the entire network decreased from 916 in 2023 to 891 in 2024, to close 2025 with 822 confiscated items. This general reduction suggests an improvement in prevention protocols or a decrease in serious conflicts.
Other centers maintain high figures that compete with Tarragona. Quatre Camins intervened 241 objects in 2022 and still registers 191 in 2025. Brians 2 accounted for 154 seizures last year, while Puig de les Basses reached 134 in 2024.
"A higher number of seizures reflects greater effectiveness in detection through periodic searches and control of cells and common areas" - Departament de Justícia i Qualitat Democràtica
The prison administration insists that these figures do not automatically equate to a more dangerous environment. On the contrary, they interpret intervention peaks as proof of the effectiveness of routine searches in modules and common areas. The possession of these weapons is usually linked to self-protection mechanisms, power dynamics, or internal settling of scores.