Lovely La Rambla, Barcelona
Barcelona visitors experienced 6,000 thefts per day during 2009′s tourist season.
115,055 pickpocketings and bagsnatches in Barcelona were reported in the 12 months ending August 2009, police said. Newspapers did the math and trumpeted “315 thefts every day!” But take away the off-season, when thefts are way down, and add in unreported thefts to get the real number “per day.” More like a million in a year.
Barcelona authorities have finally, officially, admitted that the level of theft in the city is “extremely high.” This came only days after Barcelona made headlines around the world as “worst city for pickpockets,” thanks to TripAdvisor’s proclamation. It’s long been an open secret that otherwise lovable “bcn” has rampant thievery, but potential visitors and, more importantly, the conference business, have begun to wonder if there aren’t safer destinations. Hotels, tired of wiping the tears of robbed guests, must have been screaming for relief.
Police estimate there are 200-250 full-time thieves at large. That makes me laugh. The police, at one time, showed me their profiles of more than 300 pigeon poop pickpockets alone! “La Mancha,” the stain, is what they call them, because they dirty their victims. In my 15-year history of observing thieves in my favorite city, I find that the pigeon poop perps are but a small subsection of the thief pool. If there are 300+ PPPs, how many other bagsnatchers and pickpockets lurk about?
Spot the thief. Answer: bÉq Çɥʇ buıp1oÉ¥ s,ÇÉ¥
Although I think 250-300 is a low estimate, it’s still a huge number of criminals who each make any number of efforts throughout the day to gather other people’s valuables. For each thief, there might be 10, 20, or 30 attempts to steal, each day. With each attempt, lots can go wrong to blow it. The victim may suspect something, and turn. He may move, though he suspected nothing. The thief may think someone is watching. Someone may be watching and shout out. The pocket or purse might be difficult to get into. the getaway may become blocked, a cop might be spotted… It’s a delicate balance; attempted thefts are derailed far more often than they’re completed. You may never have had your wallet stolen, but you may have been a target.
And after the thief’s success? Even then, the deal’s not done. The victim may whirl around and accuse the pickpocket, who’ll then drop the goodies on the ground and pretend he had nothing to do with them. That’s a theft—but not counted in any statistics.
The police finger North Africans and Romanians. I’ll agree that these groups are prominent among the perps, along with certain South Americans, other East Europeans, and an unmentionable group. Not that it matters to the victim. Not that visitors would know the difference.
Let’s not forget the transient thieves, either. For the past month Bob has been communicating with a pickpocket in Paris who enjoys lucrative field trips where the moolah is mucho and the heat’s not so hot. At this very moment, he’s shopping for wallets in Brussels. Next stop, BCN. “Barcelona police are easy, but there’s not much money there,” he explained. Yet, he’s making the trip. And he’s not alone.
The police claim that pickpockets try to steal less than €400 per person, because the perps know that stealing less than that will land them a fine if caught, rather than jail time. Uh-uh. No. Pickpockets steal wallets. Bagsnatchers steal purses. They don’t stop to ask how much cash the vic has. They don’t stop to look. And if they get a windfall, they don’t cry about it. “Son-of-a-bitch good,” is the feeling pickpocket Kharem described when he nabbed a briefcase filled with thousands of dollars. People who spend their days stealing expect to get caught and pay the consequences. They know it will happen. For them, the reward is worth the risk. If they get a lot of money in one hit, they can stay home and thereby cut their risk for a day or two.
A pickpocket's fines
And they need all that cash to pay their fines. For each theft of under €400 for which he’s arrested, the thief “pays a fine of €200 and then returns to the street,” said an official of the City police who asked for anonymity. “But they work so much that it’s worthwhile to them to keep doing it and pay the occasional €200 fine.” Some of these thieves have hundreds of arrests in their records and are released over and over again; presumably to collect cash to pay their fines. Looking at the fistful of fines Kharem showed us, this is a pretty lucrative system for the city. A stupid-tourist tax perhaps, or a licensing fee for thieves.
“315 thefts each day,” another headline reads. In August 2009, the year-to-date total was 115,055 reported thefts. But why average them over a full year? Most of the tourist activity is from May to November. Pickpocketing is easier when people are in summer clothes rather than bundled up with coats that cover pockets. I’d say most of the 115,055 reported thefts occurred in the six good-weather months. That means about 600 each day that you’re likely to be there, sharply dropping off as the weather cools and the tourists dry up.
But that’s reported thefts. In Barcelona, I’d multiply the reported thefts by a factor of 10 to get actual thefts. That brings the number up to 6,000 each day of the tourist season.
Why by a factor of 10? Lots of cruise ship passengers get a single day in BCN. I’ve personally interviewed at least 1,500 of them. When they’re robbed, they don’t have time to file a report because they have to be on their ship. They tend to be of a certain type, too: mouth-breathing obliviates with protruding wallets and gaping purses who advertise their naiveté with every particle of their beings.
And lots of carefree youth visit; when they’re robbed, and their loss is small, they just chalk it up to their carelessness and don’t bother filing. Lots of drinking in the bars and pubs, where victims just assume they lost their wallet, phone, or camera.
And lastly, for those who do attempt to file a police report, the process can be long and arduous. Bob and I have assisted or accompanied many victims through the ordeal. It can take hours. It can be daunting: waiting for one of the few police officers who can take a report in English or French or whatever, going from one police station to another. It can suck up half a day or more. It’s very tempting to give up when the police tell you to come back in two hours to complete the process. Or even at the start when the lineup to file reports is out the door. And if a tourist has lost his passport, getting a new one is the priority. He may not file a police report at all. After canceling credit cards and figuring out how to get some quick cash, the victim is exhausted.
I know something about the rate of reporting losses from speaking to thousands of travelers over the years (around the world). I’ve conducted an informal survey on how often police reports are filed. Of the hundreds of victims who tell us their sad stories each year, a minute fraction say they bothered to file a police report. They don’t want to ruin even more of their trip. They, like the police, throw up their hands and blow air.
This new, official recognition of the problem is laudable. Now it will be interesting to watch the coming season, hear the numbers, and do the math.
Yes, I’m postulating that only about 10% of personal thefts in Barcelona get reported to the police. But the days are long in BCN, so that’s only, say 300 an hour. In the high season.
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Obviously it’s not only in Barcelona, although they are particularly brazen there. I’ve been surrounded in a train and stared at the fellow next to me, who was attempting to open the zipper on my belt pouch. Didn’t faze him at all.
However, reporting a theft was easier in Madrid. Having already avoided an attempt to con me out of a passport, I lost a wallet as the train doors closed. The enxt day at the police station, the police were helpful and eventually introduced me to a young officer with limited English. He was having trouble until a more senior officer told him to make a phone call. There I was put in contact with a woman, who took the report in English and then printed it out on the officer’s printer in Spanish. My Spanish is good enough to read it and we signed it and left happy. My insurance from the Visa card reimbursed most of my loss.
Yeah, only 300 per hour. That’s containable. ;) And ‘mouth-breathing obliviates’ – take a patent on that. I’m going to use it a lot. ;)
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The Barcelona police and council are letting the whole city down and making more of a crisis for this area. Friends and relatives have come home to London, happy to be in a safer place. Few are keen to visit again! If it didn’t have the beach and sun, it would be stuffed!
Was suggested I post this,
I read your articles related to Barcelona, recently returned from a trip overseas and was surprised at how many pickpocket attempts were made on me. (I was staying at a hostel and about 10 of the individuals had a theft of some sort happen).
One particularly interesting method was they attempted to drape my arm over their shoulders, leaving my pocket nearest them exposed.
Another interesting method was jumping up and down trying to get you to do the same.
The sheer brazenness of some of the attempts was rather shocking.
@LetterRip: Brazen, for sure, but the methods work often enough for the thieves to keep on using them. They don’t mind failing, and they do fail about 90% of the time. They’re feelings aren’t hurt—they just move on to the next victim.
You didn’t say that your trip was to Barcelona… Wherever it was, I hope you had a good visit despite the pickpocket attempts.
I lived in BCN for 10 months on my gap year, and by some miracle, I got nothing stolen. Not even a metro ticket! For me, my main pointers would be:
~ Avoid Las Ramblas at all costs! Especially at night.
~ The Raval is bad, yes, but if you walk quickly, and with your head held high, suspecting everyone, you should be okay.
~ For girls like myself, buy a complicated bag, which hangs across the body. It looks less tempting to nick. And wear it in front of you!
~ Don’t carry cameras/maps/guide books in an obvious place: it screams tourist. And don’t walk around in big tour groups; they draw wa-ay too much attention.
~ Dress as locally as you can. Shirts and jeans would be fine for men, and linen trousers, floaty skirts, or anything from Zara for women will be perfectly at home.
~ Speaking from experience here: when I first went to BCN, I was blonde, and got a lot of whistles and suspicious looks. As soon as I dyed my hair dark brown, most stopped, and I got treated like a local.
~ DO NOT go anywhere near the people selling the stupid dancing cartoon characters: they don’t work, they’re just an easy way for some con-man to make money.
~ And under no circumstances (apart from if there is a HUGE match on) wear a Barca shirt. No one wears them! Really!!
~ Do your research before choosing places to eat, drink or stay. God bless the Internet!
~ Appear relaxed, even though you are paranoid. And if anyone gets too close, tell them where to go.
~ After all that, try to remember to enjoy yourself. BCN is a beautiful, vibrant city. You just have to take care.
Good advice. Thanks Hannah!
I had all my cash (about Euros 150 and £40) stolen from my purse in my handbag at the Sagrada Familia yesterday, by three kids — two boys and a girl about 10-12 ish.
They used clipboards and seemed to be asking, very aggressively, for sponsorship for charity, pushing the clipboards in my face and shouting loudly,
I thought I’d avoided the problem, and just moved on.
Then the same kids came up to me again five minutes later, when I was sitting down reading, doing exactly the same, again very loud and annoying.
I pushed them away and moved on, and a woman sitting nearby said to me that they were not just being annoying and to be careful. But I could see that my purse was in my bag and thought nothing more about it till I went to pay for something in the Boqueria Market later on and realised they had taken all my notes.
And I think the worst thing almost is that you feel so foolish for not realising what is happening. I thought they were annoying and horrible kids, but didn’t have a clue that they were criminals! No doubt they have been forced into this life by one means or another, none of it very pleasant, but nevertheless
I had been warned that pickpocketing and so on was rife in Barcelona, but haven’t experienced it before.
Shame for such a beautiful place.
Liz
Sorry to hear of your rip-off, Liz, but thanks for sharing it. I haven’t heard of the clipboard twist to the old cardboard or newspaper shield. Clever!
Seems the only way to protect ourselves is to increase our levels of cynicism and suspicion, not trusting anyone who approaches us. But that’s not a nice way to travel either! We must stow our stuff safely, so a clever distraction does not give easy access to our valuables. Refresh with Purseology 101 and Pocketology 101 under the Theft Thwarter Tips tab at the top of this page.
My wife and I just returned from Barcelona. We were warned by so many that it was unbelievable. I am a longhaul pilot of 20 years so can blend in, dress shabby, and walk with meaning, wife similarly shabby! I only take what cash I need split in zipped pockets concealed under real pockets, with a small-change wallet for water etc in the front zipped pocket. We went last Saturday with tickets for Barcelona FC to play at home. We went an hour early and left 30 minutes after the game but the Metro was still so crowded people were jumping in backwards (and I live in London!). The Metro is pretty much the only way to get 100,000 people to this outer part of the city for big matches so we had to use it. On return, I discovered my small-change wallet from front concealed zipped pocket was missing. Luckily most of our cards and money were in the hotel safe and the majority of the money on us was still concealed and zipped in 4 other locations. I have walked the most dangerous cities in the world for over 20 years and not been robbed. I am glad we took our precautions, but I still felt bad about being robbed (20euros,2 credit cards which were cancelled immediately with no loss). It was no point in wasting a half a day reporting this on a short-break so it is not an official Statistic. What could I have done differently? Looking back,not a lot if I wanted to go to the football which we both enjoyed. It slightly spoilt our holiday, my wife didn’t want to go down the Ramblas even during the day, and we dread to think how many attempts we may have had on us during our stay. Why don’t the authorities sort this out as I will definately NOT be recommending going to Barcelona.
Not much more you could have done, Kevin. Splitting up your money and using zippered pockets is more than most people do. There’s always the possibility that you left your wallet somewhere… but it’s true that the thieves are very, very good.
I know it’s difficult and sometimes impossible to file a police report, and not much good seems to come of it after taking the trouble. It IS good for the stat books though.