Crime Free Places in Spain.? ..No Chance

[BENIDORM]

Time and time again I read and am told that there are still places in Spain where you can leave your front door unlocked etc. , and no-one will enter and steal anything....Sorry I don't believe this anymore, yes even up to a few years ago this might have been possible, but not now, and particularly more so now than ever with the un-employment figures rising in Spain.
There are some very desperate people out there and if they see an opportunity to make off with your belongings, then they will.!..
Usually all crime in Spain is blamed on drug addicts , Romanians, Gypsies etc...not so I fear, there are ordinary people with families , who are really desperate and will relieve you of your money and possessions, wherever they see the opportunity.
And to be completely honest until I first moved to Spain 20 years ago, I hadn't experienced any serious problems,but on the Spanish Costa's I endured constant break-ins at my home , business premises and vehicles.

So am I paranoid..? Not at all, some thieving scumbag isn't going to ruin my life..! ! But I am very careful !

Regards,
Gordon..

[BENIDORM]

Wow...That's scary....no replies in defence from the 'Spain is a 100% Wonderful Society '. ..

Regards,
Gordon...

[irismary]

Still never lock our doors in our village - and the last theft here was 30 years ago.....

[frog]

on my way iris

[wagon ropes]

We don't lock our doors if we are only going out for a while and it probably isn't necessary to lock up at all. The only thefts we have heard of arround here have been from properties left empty for months and even then it is only small-time stuff.

We did once watch a builder removing all the work he had done from a house across the valley but we heard later that he had not been paid so he was just getting his own back.

[katy]

I hve seen crime incidents in Pizarra, Huelva too, and most other places

[laswalkirias]

Of course there is crime in Spain, however in my opinion there is a better class of criminal in mainland Spain than in the uk. Basically your average Spanish thief or con=man is after your money or your goods with the least fuss possible.
Contrast that behaviour of your average thief in London who if disturbed or challenged will use violence as a matter of course to acheive their wicked ways.
Even worse are the thugs who come out at night to beat people senseless for "fun, a bit of a laugh"
I am convinced that Spain is a safer and more decent place to live than UK.
When I used to go out in South London last year I was warned to keep 5 pounds in my pocket because if you have no money to offer street thieves you are guaranteed to be seriously injured. My best friend had to have plastic surgery after one attack in Brixton because his assailant was "angry" that he had no money on him !!!!
Oh Spain,Oh Malaga how I love you and your people after leaving such a spiteful and miserable country that I was once proud of

[Paula]

Well you did live in one of the "High crime" areas, I wouldn't want to live there either. I could show you many other places in the UK where you would feel as safe if not safer than you do now.

[katy]

There has been at least one shooting/stabbing in Málaga each week over the past couple of months. One kid lost his life for ten euro! What worries me about that place is their fondness for setting fire to the homeless...the UK TV would have picked up on all these incidents by now but they seem to be reported in about three lines in the Spanish press. (suppose you could categorise this as having a bit of a laugh like in London.) Sounds as if this is going to be another ignorance is bliss thread

[Devils Advocate]

Oh Spain,Oh Malaga how I love you and your people after leaving such a spiteful and miserable country that I was once proud of

Did you not mean city

DA

[julian]

am I dreaming it or do we have this same thread every few weeks, I´m even getting to know who will say what next now !!!

[katy]

Yes, me too, even that you will pop in

[Lavanda]

Then I expect you're bound to know what I'm going to say, Julian ...

There are good bits and bad bits in every country. Good bits of the UK and bad bits. Good bits of Spain and bad bits. Ditto most other countries of the World. It is PERSONAL experience that colours our perception. Katy's awful experiences of having actually SEEN crime in '... most other places (of Spain) ...' gives her a different understanding of crime here to some of us who have not seen criminal acts taking place before our very eyes or of being a victim of crime.

I have been mugged twice in Spain within two years yet lived in the UK for 52 years without incident. Strangely, I still feel safer here because of the lack of violence that accompanied the muggings. In London I might have been killed - YET never experience crime there.

No hard and fast rules, I think.

[Julie]

As per usual I say:

If you don't watch spanish tv or read the papers then you are clueless of what is going on

[katy]

Hey, I haven't "seen" crime just read and watched on TV. I do find that my perception of crime is always different to what is read. New York seems fairly mild when walking around, same as in the UK or in Spain. I feel safe here but I did in the UK too. I walk around here sometimes with the dogs at 1am. Whichever country people live in there are sinkholes where these things happen.

Golf courses have had a lot of robberies recently (CDS). Many tourists seem to carry everything around with them. Golf courses are refusing to call the police saying that they cannot do anything!

[Bongtrees]

It is PERSONAL experience that colours our perception. Katy's awful experiences of having actually SEEN crime in '... most other places (of Spain) ...' gives her a different understanding of crime here to some of us who have not seen criminal acts taking place before our very eyes or of being a victim of crime.
I have been mugged twice in Spain within two years yet lived in the UK for 52 years without incident. Strangely, I still feel safer here because of the lack of violence that accompanied the muggings. In London I might have been killed - YET never experience crime there.

I doubt Katy has SEEN any crime, like many she keeps abreast of the news and doesnt live in a rarefied rosecoloured bubble.

A mugging is a mugging wherever it is carried out.

[Paula]

am I dreaming it or do we have this same thread every few weeks, I´m even getting to know who will say what next now !!!

No you're not dreaming. It's getting like groundhog day. I've just slapped my wrist for answering earlier, as it's probably word for word what I have said before.
God knows what we will all be like in 10 years, if we can still type!

[Devils Advocate]

Blame old Beni..Andalucias no.1 **** .....respect

DA

[BENIDORM]

Who me ....Would I

Gordon...

[BENIDORM]

[quote="julian"]am I dreaming it or do we have this same thread every few weeks, I´m even getting to know who will say what next now !!!
Paila replied...
No you're not dreaming. It's getting like groundhog day. I've just slapped my wrist for answering earlier, as it's probably word for word what I have said before.
God knows what we will all be like in 10 years, if we can still type![/quote]


Paula ..you probably won't be able to type in 10 years time, because by then you will have had your computer nicked when your house was burgled...because you left the BlOODY door open....

Regards,
Gordon