BENIDORM wrote:I'm never really convinced with stats. and only use them as a guide.
Just as well, because as you know (depending on which source you rely on) somewhere in the region of 73.6% of all statistics are made up.
On a serious note, though, I would also agree that it depends very much on the specific place, and it would be unwise to say that Spain is safe/unsafe, or safer than, say, the UK.
Things (and places) also change over time. I remember when we first moved to Torremolinos (around 17 years ago) feeling very safe walking around at any time of day or night, and thinking how I wouldn't expect to feel so safe at night back in the UK; I couldn't say the same now. A few years ago, I witnessed a particularly brutal and totally unprovoked attack by three Spanish lads, on a local chap walking home on his own at about 2:00am (I didn't realise it at the time, but I actually knew the victim). This happened literally outside our home - I saw it happen from above, on our terrace. It seems that they did it just for a laugh, and a mobile phone. They left him for dead in the middle of a fairly busy road. After nearly
five years

, they were finally brought to justice (with the help of my testimony) and I believe they are now all serving prison sentences. We pretty much stopped going out at night after that (although that could be because we're now boring old gits) Unfortunately this kind of thing is not an isolated incident though. I also saw a stabbing in our street one night. I personally know a couple of other people who have been mugged in town. The lady, in her seventies now, who owns & runs the newspaper kiosk opposite our home was attacked on her way home a few months ago, at around 9:00pm, still daylight. She suffered a broken pelvis and took months to recuperate.
And then of course if you're talking about safety in terms other than "normal" crime, then there's terrorism, which can strike anywhere anytime, and sadly has hit Spain more than once in recent times.
And to be perfectly honest, I never felt 100% safe on Spanish roads
Back in the UK now, we chose to live in Southport, because frankly, we felt it's probably a bit safer than many parts of Liverpool, where Mrs.M grew up. There was a reported acid attack a couple of weeks ago, in the road next to ours, which shocked the town because, well, things like that don't happen here, do they? Well, err...no, they don't. The police dropped the enquiry saying they were no longer looking for any suspects. It seems the "attack" was self-inflicted! A major crime here is when someone steals the hanging flower baskets from outside a restaurant. Generally, we do feel pretty safe here, and walked home late last night from a concert without feeling any sense of threat or danger. A stark contrast to the area of Liverpool where Mrs.M grew up, and where her sister still lives; once a perfectly good area to raise a family, now prostitutes and 11 year old drug dealers on bikes hang out on most street corners 24/7
