London Scooter Snatch-Theft Skyrockets. Going? Read this!

London scooter snatch-theft

In London, scooter snatch-theft is skyrocketing.

Scooter snatch-theft
Armed thieves are prowling London streets, snatching mobile phones and bags, robbing stores.

If you’re planning a visit there, you better read on. Simple awareness of this dangerous trending crime could save your skin and bones, besides your purse and phone.

Before I define the crime, listen: if you’re a tourist in London, you’re going to be in the danger zone. One street alone has had more than 240 scooter snatch-thefts. Tourists’ favorite areas are the thieves’ favorite areas.

London scooter snatch-theft

The crime: The bandits are usually two on a scooter, Vespa, moped, or motorbike. They’re often completely covered with jackets and full-head helmets. The victim is standing or walking along with a purse or bag—or most often the target is a mobile phone. The scooter speeds by and the backseat rider snatches the victim’s purse, or the phone right out of his/her hand. The scooter is extremely maneuverable so may even be driven slowly, up onto a sidewalk and right beside the target phone or bag.

London scooter snatch-theft
Thieves on motorbikes prey on distracted phone-users.

The surprise: The scooters often come from behind. They ride onto pedestrian-only areas. The victim is just walking along, or even talking on his phone. There’s no warning.

The risk: The victim can be pulled to the ground, even dragged, as was Kirat Nandra, a 51 year-old woman whose ribs and hand were broken and who suffered a concussion when she was dragged by scooter snatch-thieves who grabbed her purse in September of 2017. She counts herself lucky that she wasn’t dragged into traffic.

Ms. Nandra’s experience is just one of many referenced in the BBC’s recent article, London’s moped crime hotspots revealed. I highly recommend this article to anyone planning a visit to London. The BBC reports 23,000 London scooter snatch thefts in 2017. 23,000!

That’s a three thousand percent increase over the 837 incidents in 2012, which already sounds high.

Police cite the proliferation of motorbike-type vehicles due to high car insurance rates, few parking places, and the increase in motorbike delivery services. People aren’t locking up their two-wheeled transportation machines and the theft of these provide thieves with more vehicles for scooter snatch-theft.

Police want locals to make their bikes theft-proof. Police want pedestrians to “be more aware of their surroundings.” That sounds like blame-transfer to me, but perhaps police can’t do more. The scooter snatch-theft bandits are completely covered so can’t be identified. Police are reluctant to pursue them in high-speed cycle chases through city streets.

But how are we to curtail use of our highly-desirable phones? We use them for everything out on the streets, not just voice calls. We look at maps and directions, bus and metro schedules, notes and address books. We take photos, we text. How can we “be more aware” while using such a Swiss army knife of a tool, an instrument that is basically an extension of our own hand?

If you’re going to London, you better be aware of the risk of scooter snatch-theft.

In the words of a London scooter snatch-theft driver

“We’re looking for people that are looking down, got their phones out, with their headphones in, in particular,” says a London scooter snatch-theft driver in the video below. “Anything that’s not securely wrapped around someone’s shoulder or someone’s back.” Walking with your phone out, “you’re asking for it,” he says. “The best people [to steal from] are the people that are standing up with their phones in their hand. We don’t even have to get off the bike, we just drive straight past, grab their phone and off we go.” Pointing out a pedestrian across the road, the disguised thief continues, “Very easy. I’ll maneuver him from behind. He’s not safe anywhere. As long as he’s distracted, that’s it. That’s all I need.”

Among his other advice (watch the video) he suggests that if you need to talk on your phone while on the street, put the phone away and use your earphones.

The drive-by thefts are widespread in London, but two districts are especially hard hit, as are several streets in particular. See the graphs and map tool in the linked article to learn the riskiest areas, but be on guard all across London. If possible, don’t carry a purse. Instead, keep valuables under your clothing in pouches or in pickpocket-proof underwear. Put away your phone when you’re not using it. Keep your ears tuned for the sound of scooters, and oil your neck for swift swiveling. Or… just try to stop walking when you use your phone on the street, back up against a building, and take a glance around. And if something is snatched, let it go.

Scooter snatch-theft isn’t new. It’s long been the M.O. of handbag and Rolex thieves in Naples, Italy. Unfortunately, it’s one of the more dangerous street crimes. If you’re going to London, read the mentioned above article and watch this video.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=5CgeTbJl31w%3Fversion%3D3%26rel%3D1%26showsearch%3D0%26showinfo%3D1%26iv_load_policy%3D1%26fs%3D1%26hl%3Den-US%26autohide%3D2%26wmode%3Dtransparent
6/6/18 Edit: How police are fighting moped theft crimes: Snatch squads to halt moped menace in London: police squads drag suspects from bikes in new tactic

6/10/18 Edit: Scooter snatch-theft perp had 13 mobile phones on him: Boy, 14, charged over seven moped robberies within one hour

© Copyright Bambi Vincent 2007-present. All rights reserved.

World’s most famous pickpocket slams ‘blatant’ Barcelona street crime rates

Camorra: Bob Arno, thieves, Barcelona, Naples,
Barcelona street crime, Bob Arno, thieves, Barcelona, Naples,
Bob Arno on the lookout for thieves

Bob Arno, a security consultant [as well as a comedy stage pickpocket], is the world’s most prominent pickpocket. Speaking to 02B, Arno lifts the lid on the Barcelona street crime scene. According to him, out of a thousand cruise-goers disembarking in Barcelona on any given day, five will be stripped of their belongings.

By Ignasi Jorro in Barcelona, 23/02/2014

Not many former pickpockets pride themselves on having been featured on the frontpage of Time. Bob Arno is one of them. He is often described as “the world’s most famous pickpocket” and praise pours in for his “unrivalled skills”. Bob Arno has snatched his way into the Wall Street Journal, CNN, and New York Times. National Geographic handpicked him for the acclaimed documentary Pickpocket King.

Now a security consultant, Bob Arno has a conference-packed agenda, giving 25 lectures a year on average. The pickpocket-turned-pundit works closely with tourist firms and runs a successful blog on worldwide crime.

02B- When was the last time you visited Barcelona?

Bob Arno- We visit Barcelona every summer, sometimes for a week or so, or several times for a day or two between May and November. The reason for our frequent trips is that we work with various travel companies, like the cruise industry, which brings us to Barcelona.

Bob Arno on Barcelona street crime statistics

02B- How would you describe the “pickpocket scene” (if it can be called so) in that city?

BA- Extremely high, compared with per capita statistics of other tourist cities like Rome, Paris, Copenhagen, and Prague. These other cities also have high pickpocketing rates, but not as varied and blatant as in Barcelona

In my own surveys, I have found that of 1,000 tourists visiting from a cruise ship (for five to eight hours), three to five persons will experience a theft or an attempted theft. Numbers are much lower for the same 1,000 cruise passengers visiting Nice or Athens.

The good news is that lately numbers have come down as to cruise passengers—day visitors who do not stay over night. But young hotel guests, 18-30 years of age, often do not bother to report the theft of a wallet or mobile phone, skewing the numbers.

Bottom line: I would say that the average number of thefts (real losses versus failed attempts) have decreased from over 100 per day, to 50-100 per day.

02B- But, who robs in Barcelona?

BA- Categorizing pickpockets in Barcelona is a complex endeavor. Here is an incomplete list the many players:

• Local gypsy families, who might have arrived many years ago from Kosovo or other war-torn regions, either first or second generation. A decade ago these perpetrators were a serious nuisance in Barcelona and probably constituted over fifty percent of the action. It is far less today.

• North African pickpockets who reside in France (especially in Paris) and make brief trips to Barcelona to practice their trade

• South American pickpockets who reside legally or illegally in Barcelona who specialize in advanced pickpocketing techniques like “la mancha,” the pigeon-poop ploy

• Itinerant pickpockets from Romania. Men and women, often very skillful in their art. Within this group are the pickpockets who specialize in “Apple-picking,” or iPhone-grabbing.

• Occasional well-organized troupes from Poland, skillful and very experienced. They’re a small percentage of the pickpocketing population in Barcelona

You will notice that we have not yet listed any local residents. It appears that over ninety percent of pickpockets in Barcelona are from other parts of Europe (or the world).

02B- How would you describe the response by authorities, including police forces, etc?

BA- I have always wondered why tourism organizations and politicians never combined forces and tackled the crime reputation that Barcelona gradually gained. The city has a very poor reputation that lingers to this day.

02B- In that case, what would you advise them to do to tackle the issue?

BA- I believe with absolute confidence that the police divisions working the Barcelona street crime detail know exactly who the culprits are, and they could quite easily apprehend the majority, and either expel or lock them up.

But it’s not that easy. It’s the judicial system we’re talking about and the expense of sentences. For a start, I would have a long session with the police chiefs and their superiors about morale and attitude toward tourists reporting crime. I’d like to see more compassion from the officers, more detail-oriented report forms, more translators, and a system that measures behavior of police officers who come in contact with tourists. Also needed: an independent commission that looks at all facets of Barcelona street crime, and which then reports back to the political powers.

For example, a pickpocket (in Paris) who has one arrest record, can be apprehended and prosecuted if they behave as if they are going to to steal from a victim.

Barcelona street crime, pickpocket statistics; barcelona pickpocket stats
Lovely La Rambla, Barcelona

02B- Which would be the main techniques?

BA- Depending on the nationality of the perpetrator, the techniques vary.

• First and foremost, opportunity theft when a victim does not protect his belongings. For example, she places her handbag on the floor in a restaurant without realizing that the entire bag can be pulled away from below.

• Pickpockets sandwiching victims at door entrances in the metro during rush hours.

• Thieves working clubs and restaurants who especially target the elderly (who are gullible or less mobile), and also the youth (in their late teen years or early twenties) who are still trusting, not yet cynical, and easy to distract. These thieves also work at big club events and concerts.

• The classic “pigeon poop” smear. A gooey mess is applied onto the innocent victim and then, a minute later, the pickpocket approaches the victim and volunteers to help clean it off. In the process, the pickpocket can invade pockets while distracting with cleaning the spot. It is more prevalent in Barcelona than elsewhere.

• Luggage thieves. Tourists arrive at a hotel and unload their bags from a car, leaving a small backpack or laptop case unguarded. While the bags are unattended, thieves speed by on a scooter, snag the laptop case, and speed off.

• Shoulder-surfing, in which the thief watches the cash machine-user from a distance to learn his PIN. The target is then followed until the thief gets (or creates) an opportunity to steal the bank card.

02B- What differences, if any, has the pickpocket community in Barcelona with similar major capitals around the globe?

BA- Most of Barcelona’s pickpockets are opportunists; fewer are very skillful ones. It’s a volume operation at the lower end, because Barcelona is so packed with visitors seven months of the year.

02B- How has the recession affected the pickpocket scene?

BA- Not much. They may have to steal an extra wallet or two to get the money they need.

Pickpocketing is inherent of large crowds, and so is on the type of tourists who visit Barcelona -some gullible, some young. Since Barcelona is such a desirable destination, many visitors are new to travel and naive.

02B- What are your future projects as an expert in this field?

BA- Since my National Geographic film, Pickpocket King, was released two years ago, I am less effective infiltrating or establishing rapport with thieves. But I am able to work closely with many law enforcement agencies across Europe, training and discussing policies. It is my strong belief that the best way to reduce diversion theft is to educate the public and make them aware of the basic techniques of thievery. With a few basic precautionary rules we can reduce this Barcelona street crime by more than half.

© Copyright 2008-present Bambi Vincent. All rights reserved.

Barcelona bag-snatch and the lucky victims

Carrer de Ferran, Barcelona
Carrer de Ferran, Barcelona
Carrer de Ferran, Barcelona

Barcelona police are eager to report a theft when they catch the thief and return the victim’s property—if the following story is any indication. Makes the statistics look good! Boosts police reputation, too! This just in from Pia, a German woman visiting Barcelona for the first time. For once, a story with a happy ending.

Something similar to those stories [on the Thiefhunters’ Barcelona Scams page] happened to me & my friend just yesterday. It was on our first trip to Barcelona & of course we’d been warned that there are a lot pickpockets around.

We went out to have dinner at Port Olímpic, had a lot of Sangria & were just about to return to our hotel at around 2.30. At a bus station on ‘Carrer d’Álaba’ two guys walked toward us. One of them seemed to be drunk, they chatted & laughed. The other one had already passed us when the first slender one blocked my way. He was smirking & didn’t let me pass by. Instead he suddenly started touching my breasts & I immediately knew we were surrounded. I tried to get him off & started running around the bus station to escape. My friend was so shocked she stood almost petrified on the sidewalk. In a split second the one harassing me ran off down the street when in the very same moment I heard my friend yell in shock & scream “Let go of my purse!”

The first man had tried to catch our attention so the other one had the chance to grab whatever we carried along!

We both followed him as fast as we could when he ran off into the opposite direction & around the corner. While my friend was wearing heels, I had taken mine off before all had started so I was faster but still too slow to catch up. (I now doubt that I would’ve had a chance against him if I had been faster. )

Just in this very moment (everything was happening so fast!) I heard another man yell something about the ‘bolso’ & saw a huge guy follow the thief. When I finally got around the second corner, the big one was holding my friend’s purse, talking fiercely to the other one. For a moment I thought they were partners but then I glimpsed the gun on the tall guy’s belt & saw him grabbing the thief at the wrist, pushing him up against the wall, telling me to stay ‘al forno’. He’d been a undercover cop!

About a minute later 2 police cars pulled up & one of the officers arrested the thief, handcuffs & all that!

My friend had finally caught up with the scene & the tall cop handed her the purse.

They asked us for names & IDs & reported the attack. Of course we were shaking all over & 2 of the police officers drove us back to the hotel, making sure we were okay & got back safe.

La Rambla, Barcelona
La Rambla, Barcelona

We had SO much luck, it’s unbelievable! Nothing was stolen & we got away with no more than a real shock. It’s really unbelievable how easily you can be a victim of crime, especially when you’re a female.?We couldn’t have prevented this from happening, that’s what the police told us, too. Those thieves were just too strong, my friend couldn’t have held on to her bag any tighter. I think it is scary to know you’re not safe anywhere from scams & attacks, not even 100m from your hotel.
But we were so very lucky to have someone help us!

God bless those brave policemen & god bless those amazingly fast & long legs of the guy who saved us! 😉

© Copyright 2008-2012 Bambi Vincent. All rights reserved.

Barcelona police prevent theft-report filings

mossos d'esquadra
mossos d'esquadra
mossos d’esquadra

Barcelona police are turning away theft victims who come to report the theft of their phones. Why? The victims can’t provide the stolen phones’ serial numbers (duh). In three minutes, we saw three separate victims of theft prohibited from filing official police reports.

I wish we’d surveyed the rest of the victims waiting in line. Doubtless some lost wallets full of cash, but smart phones are the hot item for thieves this year, and Barcelona Police aren’t going to let them inflate their theft statistics.

The more I dwell on this, the madder I get. These are a subset of victims, already upset, who bother to make the trek to the remote police station to file official reports. They need these reports for their insurance claims. But they don’t have access to records of their electronic devices’ serial numbers while on holiday and Barcelona Police know it.

Now, with a brand new Apple store having just opened last week, stolen-iPhone victims might be in a bit of luck if Apple will provide the information the police require. If those victims have time to go across town to the Apple store, wait for employees to access their account histories, then return to the police station. Nice vacation!

When police make it impossible to file an official theft report, they tamper with statistics. The motivation is clear: what city doesn’t want lower crime stats? What city doesn’t want to show the effectiveness of its police department?

And what city desperately needs to show lower pickpocketing statistics than Barcelona? I get it.

Three stolen-iPhone victims in three minutes. Let’s extrapolate on the conservative side and say three in ten minutes. That’s 18 an hour, or what, 200 a day? More? Fewer? Impossible to say but “a lot” would be accurate. Police translators are only on duty ten hours a day, if I remember correctly, so reports from foreigners would be concentrated during those hours. I believe 200 smart-phone theft victims showing up each day at the Mossos d’Esquadra (Barcelona’s Catalan police station) is conservative. That’s 200 reports of theft not filed. Per day.

I didn’t consider this possibility when I wrote 6,000 Thefts Per Day on Barcelona Visitors. Granted, smart phones weren’t the hot target they are today. But I knew that Barcelona Police had other methods to thwart the filing of theft reports: limited hours of available translators; bouncing victims from one police station to another, demanding they come back in a few hours… Still, numbers in the hundreds of thousands are admitted by Barcelona Police as reports successfully filed by pickpocket and bag snatch victims.

We know we can’t trust those numbers. The police admit to 9,000 violent muggings in the first ten months of 2011. That’s 30 per day. And 2,000 bag-snatches in the same period—6 per day. But how many pickpocketings? How many other thefts? And how many people bother or try to file police reports? And of those, how many succeed?

I know—I’ve got far more questions than answers. I will revisit the police station in a few weeks and report back.

© Copyright 2008-2012 Bambi Vincent. All rights reserved.

Pickpocket statistics

Pickpocket statistics

You want pickpocket statistics? How prevalent is pickpocketing? How many thefts occur in one day in New York, or Rome, or St. Petersburg, Russia? Or at the Rose Bowl Parade, or the World Cup? How many thefts are actually reported? Raise your hand if you think you lost your wallet or phone.

If your wallet is suddenly just—gone!—does your pride make you say that you must have lost it (because no one could steal from me!)? Or does your vanity tell you that it must have been stolen (because I never lose things!)? Is it your nature to accept responsibility or assign blame? On which list should your missing wallet be placed? Lost or stolen?

Pickpockets are an enigmatic breed. Most are never seen or felt by their victims—or anyone else. Mystery men and women (and boys and girls) moving freely among us, they’re as good as invisible. So how can they be quantified?

How many thefts does each commit in a day? How many attempts that fail? How many successes that must be reversed, by handing back the loot or dropping it on the ground when accused?

What exactly is pickpocketing, anyway?

…Fingers stealthily extract a wallet from a man’s pocket.
…They reach into a woman’s purse for hers.
…It’s demanded “for examination” by a pseudo-cop.
…They take only cash from a wallet.
…A watch is ripped off your wrist.
…A phone is lifted from a restaurant table, right under your nose.
…A woman’s purse is taken from under her chair at a cafe.
…It’s snatched from her shoulder on the street.
…It’s slit with a razor in broad daylight.
…A gold chain is yanked from your neck.
…A backpack is taken from an airport luggage cart.
…A briefcase from the ground at your feet.
…Cash or jewelry is taken from your bag in the airplane overhead bin.

Pickpocket statistics

Do all of these count? How do police reports define them? Larceny? Robbery? Lost property? Do the police reports further break them down into pickpocketing verses bag snatching verses mugging?

I’m often asked for actual statistics. Occasionally, I half-heartedly go looking for some. I’ve learned that this ambiguous crime is not uniformly classified and, of course, not uniformly reported at all.

Pickpocketing is a phantom crime. In many cases, only the perp knows the deed was done. There are no witnesses or evidence; no dead body or weapon—just the lack of some personal property which—you know—could have been misplaced.

To most police except the passionate few, pickpocketing is “petty;” too insignificant for them to take seriously. It’s more paperwork than they want to bother with, especially at the end of their shifts. They throw up their hands. They blow air. And now, it seems, they “downgrade” police reports, chalking up reported thefts to lost-property.

The news is scandalous over at New York’s JFK Airport, where the Port Authority Police Department is allegedly fudging reports:

When laptops and suitcases are reported stolen by travelers, officers are routinely ordered to downgrade the incidents from thefts to merely lost luggage—to keep the airport’s crime stats down and their bosses looking good, sources told the Post.

High theft numbers make people feel unsafe and make the police departments look bad. City administrators want to seem as if they’ve cleaned up crime. But high numbers also help get budget increases for additional personnel. Numbers can be tweaked to fit the day’s whim. It’s all political and arbitrary and very fuzzy. Pickpocket statistics are amorphous.

The New York Post reporter describes the police report filed by a pickpocketing victim:

Kaya Tileu, 26, a resident of the Upper East Side who works on Wall Street, filed a theft report Feb. 22 alleging that his $200 wallet, $300 in cash and credit cards were swiped from inside a JFK McDonald’s.
The original paperwork listed Tileu as a grand-larceny victim. But a Post-it note attached to his police report advised the cop who filed it, “This is a lost property.—Capt.”

Pickpocket opens bag; pickpocket statistics

Police aren’t counting reported thefts? I didn’t even consider this possibility when I extrapolated the numbers for Barcelona and came up with a whopping “6,000 thefts per day on Barcelona visitors.” I took the police at their word when they reported 115,055 pickpocketings and bag snatches in a recent 12-month period. I started with that number—I didn’t say but wait, let’s increase it to include the victim reports they’re not counting…

In my book, Travel Advisory: How to Avoid Thefts, Cons, and Street Scams, I wrote of the impossibility of compiling pickpocket statistics:

Of the pickpocket incidents reported, most, according to a New York cop on the pickpocket detail who wishes to remain unnamed, fall into the “lost property” category. “They don’t even realize they’ve been pickpocketed,” he said. “They think they just lost it.” Incidents reported as thefts are lumped under one of several legal descriptions. Larceny is the unlawful taking of property from the possession of a person, and includes pickpocketing, purse-snatching, shoplifting, bike theft, and theft from cars. Robbery is the same but involves the use or threat of force. The theft of a purse or wallet, therefore, may fall into either of these categories, and usually cannot be extracted for statistical purposes. Similarly, the figures collected under larceny or robbery include offenses this book does not specifically address; shoplifting, for example.

For many reasons, victims don’t always report thefts. Hotels and theme parks and other venues actively discourage them from filing police reports, and incident rates are suppressed. It’s bad publicity for Paradise. It’s terrible for pickpocket statistics. Pickpocketry may be a dirty little secret, but Bob and I know that this petty theft, collectively, is huge.

So give it to me already: Pickpocket Statistics

Yeah. Sorry. Here’s my big conclusion: Catch-22. As long as pickpocketry is considered petty, no one will bother collecting data. And as long as there are no large numbers, the crime will continue to be considered petty. Petty crime—who cares? Even actually reported incidents, which we know are only some fraction of a larger number, will continue to be lumped into disparate broad legal categories, unextractable. Who will expend resources on an element that can’t be counted, a scourge that can’t be seen? Like a virus, pickpockets will continue to lurk invisibly, impossible to eradicate, wreaking their havoc.

© Copyright 2008-2010 Bambi Vincent. All rights reserved.

Barcelona pickpocket statistics: 6,000 thefts per day on visitors

pickpocket statistics; barcelona pickpocket statistics

Barcelona pickpocket statistics

Lovely La Rambla; Barcelona pickpocket statistics
Lovely La Rambla, Barcelona

Barcelona visitors experienced 6,000 thefts per day during 2009’s tourist season.

115,055 pickpocketings and bag snatches 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+ pigeon poop pickpocket specialists, how many other bag snatchers and pickpockets lurk about?

Barcelona pickpocket statistics
Spot the thief. Answer: he’s holding the bag

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. Does that make you part of Barcelona pickpocket statistics?

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 Barcelona pickpocket 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. It’s part of their own pickpocket statistics. 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; Barcelona pickpocket statistics
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.

Did you filed a police report, if you were robbed while traveling?

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. Will Barcelona pickpocket statistics continue to rise?

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.

If you read this far, you should probably also read Pickpockets, Con Artists, Scammers, and Travel.
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