Report: Crime in Barcelona

Maximilian

I'm just back from Barcelona and let me give you this tip: Leave your wallet in a safe and just bring whatever cash you need. Keep your hands in your pockets.

Out of my group of 10, 3 of us got are wallets pickpocketed. One guy had his passport stolen, another found his jacket pocket had been slashed with a knife but they didn't get his wallet. Spoke to some people at the airport, and out of their wedding party of 60, 10 had theirs nicked.

When my friend went to the police station to report his passposrt, he was told to come back the next day, as due to the amount of people reporting their own stolen, he would be waiting for hours.

As far as I can tell, crime is out of control in that city. Particularly in the Ramblas area. The cops just don't seem to care.

Out of curiosity, what are other people's experiences?

eth0_

If you kept your wallet/passport in a backpack or the back pocket of your trousers...what do you expect? I've never been pickpocketed in my life, I keep my wallet in the front pocket of my trousers and I lock my passport in the hotel room safe. I don't know what you expect the police to do, I mean if you didn't even notice someone slashing your back or putting their hand in your pocket, the police will probably miss it too.

xzanti

I'm just home from there myself after a hens weekend and it is crazy... So dodgy, a girl from another hens party that was there the same time as us was dragged down a lane and sexually assaulted.. Very dangerous place IMO..

zAbbo

Been twice rencently, and spent a good few hours round La Ramblas, Didn't get anything stolen, and neither did anyone I was with.

I usually just take the cash I need, regardless of where I'm going.

You must be the big touristy types.

Why did someone have their passport with them in La Ramblas

jester77

Same experience here. 3 of us there for a weekend, heard all the warnings beforehand, even told by the staff in the hotel, so we were well aware and extra cautious looking out for anything suspicious. Yet my mates wallet got lifted when we were moving between bars. I would say 90% of the people I know who have been there have had a similar experience!

Afuera

Living for nearly two years now in Barcelona, and personally have had no problems with crime. I agree that around las Ramblas, especially el Raval, is dodgy; anyone I know that's got robbed has had it happen around these zones (one guy had his apartment broken into three times within the space of three months). I wouldn't go so far as to say that crime is out of control in the whole city though! There's plenty of other areas to check out that have a lot less of the scum element (Gracia, Eixample Dreta, Born and Barceloneta in particular).

The advise of only taking what you need on a night out (and leaving the passport back in the hotel) sounds like common sense for anywhere in the world to be honest.

Zaph

I've been there three times, and while I would accept that on my last visit there things appeared to have deteriorated a bit, I've never had any trouble with crime, and nor have any of the people with me. A little bit of common sense is needed, you'd be careful with your money and possessions in certain parts of Dublin, so why should being abroad be any different? Barcelona and Rome (another place I've been to without problems) have well publicised reputations for pickpockets, so I would have thought that anyone going there would know this in advance and taken extra precautions.

BuffyBot

Move to the right forum..

RuggieBear

some mates were over at the liverpool/barca game a little bit back and 4 of them got pickpocketed.

My father was also pickpocketed twice there over the same weekend last year...

Maximilian

eth0_ wrote:

If you kept your wallet/passport in a backpack or the back pocket of your trousers...what do you expect? I've never been pickpocketed in my life, I keep my wallet in the front pocket of my trousers and I lock my passport in the hotel room safe. I don't know what you expect the police to do, I mean if you didn't even notice someone slashing your back or putting their hand in your pocket, the police will probably miss it too.

The guy had his passport for a reason - he was on his way from the airport. As for the wallets, we all had ours in our front pockets, not hanging out our ass pockets, as I for one have at least half a brain. You don't realise how "good" these guys are at what they do and the variety of methods they use. As for the police, well, if the bouncers know who the guys are, how can the cops not?

I'm sure Barcelona has its merits and its better areas but for 3/7 in our case and 6 people of another group we met to all have had this happen goes beyond the norm or average for this kind of crime. Does anyone think something like that could happen in Dublin to that high degree? I doubt it.

Anyway. Lessons learned.

smemon

was in Barcelona in January..

Heard about all this pick pocket stuff.. so kept a close eye on my camera/wallet etc..

No problems.. it's the same in any city, if you look like a tourist and act like one, you'll be a target.

Don't wear a rucksack, have maps out in the open, wave camera's about, leave anything in your back pockets etc..

All common sense. Think like a pick pocketer, and you'll be grand

breadmonkey

Did anyone else see the group of people doing the cup and balls scam on the Ramblas? I watched from upstairs in McDonalds for about 40 mins and could see that there were about 8-10 people involved. Scumbags

Sonnenblumen

Approx 7 friends were in Barcelona recently for an extended weekend, during which 5 were pickpocketed (different times and city locations). 3 were victims of a very physical gang attack/mugging on way back to hotel from nightclub. One member of the group was pickpocketed twice over the W/E!!

All in all a miserable damper on the break. Glad I didn't go. Still it might prove to be useful training for the trip to Prague later in year.

breadmonkey

Sonnenblumen wrote:

All in all a miserable damper on the break. Glad I didn't go. Still it might prove to be useful training for the trip to Prague later in year.

Just watch out for the prossies! Never have I seen such overt pickpocting!

Maximilian

Sonnenblumen wrote:

Still it might prove to be useful training for the trip to Prague later in year.

I don't think Prague is anywhere near as bad - I've been there 3 times now & have wandered around the Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square, drunk as hell without incident. Maybe I was just lucky.

zAbbo

breadmonkey wrote:

Did anyone else see the group of people doing the cup and balls scam on the Ramblas? I watched from upstairs in McDonalds for about 40 mins and could see that there were about 8-10 people involved. Scumbags

Yeah i saw some Japenese lad get scammed for 50 bucks. Tidy operation.

cold_filter

Sonnenblumen wrote:

Approx 7 friends were in Barcelona recently for an extended weekend, during which 5 were pickpocketed (different times and city locations). 3 were victims of a very physical gang attack/mugging on way back to hotel from nightclub..

Very surprised that didnt happen to us, was with 3 girls and 3 lads including myself, but one particular night we were hammered and the girls were walking so slow it took about 2 hours to get them to walk the normal 15 mins back to the hotel, tbh i found barcelona to be a dump and unsafe, id never go back

GreenHell

Barca has to be the pick pocket capitol of the world. There so in your face about it is unreal.

melekalikimaka

everytime i've been there some one i know has gotten stuff stolen. its such a lovely city ruined by then damn street urchins

Flinty

breadmonkey wrote:

Did anyone else see the group of people doing the cup and balls scam on the Ramblas? I watched from upstairs in McDonalds for about 40 mins and could see that there were about 8-10 people involved. Scumbags

I think if anyone gets involved in the cup and ball game thinking they might win, they deserve to be ripped off.

Tom Dunne

Was there the weekend before last (second time there) and I must say I don't think I have ever felt so intimidated.

As I was getting an earlier flight than the rest of my group the next day, I had the bright idea of leaving them and went to get a taxi on my own. While I wasn't pick-pocketed, I was tried on numerous occasions by at least seven prostitutes. Luckily I hadn't too much drink on me. I eventually went back to the group where I felt safe.

Later as the 8 of us were walking to the bottom of the Ramblas (hint: you won't get one at the top after the pubs close), we saw nothing but North African scangers sitting around just looking for trouble. You could just tell by looking at them that they were up to no good.

It is dangerous and intimidating, especially after 3:00am.

rediguana

Might be a seasonal thing. I was there in December and had no problems.

A friend-of-a-friend was robbed at brick point though last summer.

whippet

it is one of my favourite cities, personally I have never had any real problems but a lot of friends of mine have.

The brassers late at night are just annoying ... a bit of street smarts will help you out .. keep moving, ignore and generally don't even entertain them in any way they will just move on to the next nonlocal they see.

The one and only time I have been pickpocketed has been in madrid, scary experience .. waking up after a night out, not having a clue about what happened the night before (depsite not drinking enough to warrent that blackout) and being a wallet, watch and phone lighter.

Milktrolley

Sonnenblumen wrote:

All in all a miserable damper on the break. Glad I didn't go. Still it might prove to be useful training for the trip to Prague later in year.

Wouldn't worry about it too much, I was in Prague a few weeks ago and it's not just ridiculously great, it seemed pretty safe as well. According to Wikitravel, the majority of crime in Prague relates to car theft, that's why the crime stats are higher than other places.

I was with a group of about 30 in Barcelona last year, where a few people reported stuff going missing from the safe in our hotel in Salou. Not sure what happened there, but other than that all was well. But I've heard a lot of stories along the lines of what's been said here.

Sonnenblumen

Hi Milktrolley - agree that Prague is a nice city but far from being Toy Town. Was first there in 1994 and most recnt visit was in 2002. Big changes, back in the 90's the brazers were on the motorways and the kops were on the game. Scamming motorists for small motor offences speeding etc.

In the city money was scare and prices were low. Since the yanks started flocking there's been a western tourist invasion and everything changes.

Bars and restaurants are nice but need to be careful, especially after dark.

Still its a nice city with well established street crime.

Despite being neighbours the hatred of Germans was never far from view.

vibrant

I've read this thread and I'm a bit worried as I was thinking of booking a holiday to BCN this year.

In general when on holiday, I go around with my wits about me - handbag tight under my arm, with the zip at the front - no flashy jewellry - no obvious cash in pockets, etc etc etc but after reading this thread I don't know if any of that will make a blind bit of difference!!! And if stuff is being stolen out of safes in Salou...well I am actually just stunned at that. If the pickpockets are going around slashing peoples bags/clothes, "being sensible" counts for nothing.

I guess the point of my post is to ask - should I rule out a visit based on above posts? Let's take into account too the regions where these muggings/assaults (holy ****) took place - where abouts would you consider their counterparts to be in Dublin (I mean, would they be similiar in popularity/atmosphere as Dame Street or Upper O'Connell Street, or wherever, or are they more off the beaten track?

Basq

Was there last August for 10 days.. heard horror stories before going there.

But didn't pay much attention - kept my pocket in my back pocket most times going out and never robbed... spent almost every night down at the Ramblas.

Guess it depends!

spaceboy

I was in Barcelona last August with a few mates,stayed in a hotel near the bottom of Las Ramblas,did'nt have any problems,although there was a lot of street walkers & trannys around that particular area.I felt safe the whole time & never felt threatened once,I hope the crime level has'nt rised dramatically since then,I'm planning on going back in July

fastrac

beware the little gypsy(roman taxi Driver)

SarahSassy

I lived there for a year and never had a problem. Had my wallet stolen recently at 7pm on a Friday night in a very respectable pub in Dublin. It happens everywhere.
In saying that, minor crime is very prevalent in BCN but you would be safer walking around the city at night than in any Irish town / city.

Richie99

My uncle has lived in Barcelona for the last 5 years, and me and my family on seperate occasions have been to the city give or take over 20 times, and None of us have been pickpocketed. This is due to the i would always carry my wallet in my front pocket and leave all othere valuables at home. The pickpockets there are some of the best in the world, so NEVER, EVER put your wallet in your back pocket in Barcelona. And try leave all other valuables in a hotel/safe.

Also, the crime there, all they want is your money and they will pickpocket it from you without any harm. Compare that to Dublin nowadays where you hear of people getting mugged and beat up for €20. Never felt threathened walking around Barca at 2/3am in the morning. Can't say the same for some cities in Eire..

skeogan

eth0_ wrote:

If you kept your wallet/passport in a backpack or the back pocket of your trousers...what do you expect? I've never been pickpocketed in my life, I keep my wallet in the front pocket of my trousers and I lock my passport in the hotel room safe. I don't know what you expect the police to do, I mean if you didn't even notice someone slashing your back or putting their hand in your pocket, the police will probably miss it too.

seriously this is a fairly ignorant post.. you obviously have no idea how good these people are or have never been to the city, or been verylucky. i've been to the city twice and pickpocketed twice. i caught the guy the first time and was very lucky. next time i wasn't so lucky.

they are absolute masters, i was over there recently in a wedding party of 60, quite possibly the party mentioned in the first post, and we were completely targetted. guys were following us and everything. thje majority of the group had a lot of travelling under their belts and were on the lookout but it didn't seem to stop them.

i have friends who are from Barcelona and they reckon that the cops are gettin payoffs as its BIG BIG business.

my sis was there for a onference last week and the situation was the same. people were targetted gettin of the subway the first morning. its very organised and they are very good

its such a shame because the rest of the city is fantastic, but this is a big problem that is getting worse

dak

I went to Barcelona on Thursday with my wife and kids . The city is wonderful and if you take the turistic bus you see a lot. Unfortunately despite my best efforts my sat nav was stolen from my lower front pocket in about 3 seconds when boarding a crowded train. Ruined my day !! Worse than that I seemingly would have to go back to Barcelona to get a police report for insurance purposes - have been advised by holiday rep that the local police wont help. Guess thats the dearest one day out in my life!! Lifes a bummer. Also had a row with the wife over map reading !

Basq

Shame to hear dak.

Does anyone know if the crime situation in Madrid is similar? Going there in just over 2 weeks.

DadaKopf

I was in Barcelona last month. Contrary to what many people have said here, Barcelona is just fine so long as you use your common sense - opportunist pickpockets are common in touristic areas, but this is not a problem so long as you're careful.

I made sure I had no valuables in my pockets - that meant keeping wallet, passport, camera and other things in my bag as much as possible.

I don't know what it's like at night down near Ramblas late at night - it's definitely lively at night, but I'm not so sure it's 'intimidating'. Again, use you're common sense like anywhere else. I was staying in Grácia, fairly well off the beaten track in a residential area in the northern centre.

I really found Barcelona just fine, and would go back in a heartbeat. That said, a few of my mates did have things stolen on them in bars - not mugged, which I would say is rare. That was because they were drunk, and forgot to play it safe.

dak

Common sense is good advise! Just be aware that when you are trying to do something like boarding a train with kids you do forget temporarily especially when the train doors are about to close!

Mickey G

I spent a week living on the dodgy end of las ramblas. The only complaint i have is it was a little noisy at night.
The atmosphere does however change markedly between 2/3 am. To be honest i would avoid walking alone on the lower end of the street after 3 am - it is intimidating and you will be approached and you may be robbed. The only people on the street then are the crooks, hookers and drunks. I ventured out once at that time and i wont do it again.
Otherwise - and up to midnight/1am the street is probably safer than anywhere else in the city and this is quite a safe town as it is.

blorg

Have been to Barcelona countless times, love the city. It is however without doubt the dodgiest place I've ever been with regard to pickpockets, they are very good. I had my passport lifted a few years back and have seen countless attempts on others, generally on the Ramblas or the Metro. I found the police sympathetic, not a lot they can do though.

basquille- I've had a camera nicked in Madrid and attempted pickpocketing on the Metro (bag undone, nothing taken though.) I've also witnessed attempts on others, always on the Metro. HOWEVER I still wouldn't think it's as bad as Barcelona!

Out of ~20 other countries I've never had anything nicked anywhere else, or seen anyone else targetted. Still love Spain though, and indeed have never had a whiff of a problem outside Barcelona/Madrid.

Probably the place you need to be most careful is the Metro when it's crowded, if you have a bag make sure it's on your front, (why do you think Spanish students do that eh) wallets in front pockets, etc.

mental07

vibrant wrote:

should I rule out a visit based on above posts?

No. I had my wallet stolen on a packed metro a couple of years back (from a zipped pocket - grrr) but it wouldn't stop me going back.

Just be careful. As you would be in any city, Dublin included.

RE*AC*TOR

I had a camera stolen in Barcelona. Again on a busy metro.

Mr Magnolia

Same as DadaKopf.

I was in Barcelona last year and had no bad experience at all. I'm always fairly careful with the cash and camera etc but I did pay extra attention to it while over there due to all the warnings I'd received.

It's a pity people have had so many bad experience, it really is a great city.

legallyconfused

Only place I ever got pickpocketed was Baggot Street, Dublin, broad daylight at lunchtime...Wouldnt base a travel decision on horror stories, within reason! Only way to find out about a place is to go and see for yourself!;)

parsi

I was there in November at a conference and a colleague was caught by the fake cop scam just outside the conference centre. When he mentioned it to the Information Desk he was told that there had been a rake of robberies at the conference the previous week.

For the rest of the week there were cops all around the centre.

As a city I found it a bit intimidating but away from Las Ramblas was nice and quiet with just ordinary folk which made it more pleasant.

darrenh

barcelona in my opinion is the best city in europe but everything good and bad you hear about las ramblas is true. it is full of crooks and scammers.they play that game with the three egg cups and the ball and you have to guess which egg cup the ball is under. one of the people working with then will throw in €20 and win and then €50 and loose. they then lift the egg cup with the ball underneath it to slightly reveal the ball so that now the surrounding tourists think they know where the ball is but quick as a flash they move it again. tourists now think they are on to a good thing and the north african crooks pull in a tourist holding his/her arm. if they will not part with there money they promise them the win and to do it just for the public and they can have there money back then. they make you put your foot on the cup you know/think the ball is in but which is most definately not in. then they reveal that it is in another cup and you realise you've been had. a man then starts to walk you away as you get angry saying 'mafia mafia no mess, dangerous mafia' while the scum that have scammed you run down the nearest tube. all this happens in less than a minute and by the time its over your left very confussed wondering how the hell did i fall for that. i should i know i was one of them. but what annoyed me even more is that i had watched them all week at work. they purposely let you see the ball and are very forceful when they pull you in. he swore he would return the money if i just did it for the public. with so many people watching you feel he will. its the man that walks you away that is the real con. you follow him thinking he will return the money but by the time you realise the scammers are gone. i know people will say arent you the bigger ejit but trust me they are good at. it was 2 months ago now and i still get pissed of when i think of it.
other than that barcelona is brilliant. its my favorite city and for something bad like that to happen and still rate it as top says alot!

Frankieboy

I read the first page of this thread, and still decided to book flights to Barcelona, but since reading them all now, I'm feeling less sure about my decision. I'm stil going to go, and appreciate everyone sharing their experiences, as now I'll be extra vigilant.

It kind of a given though that a city of it's size and popularity is going to have a high crime rate. Whenever I'm in any major/medium sized city in europe I try be aware of people around me, and try keep belongings in my eyeline.

I'm going to Barcelona at the end of the month for a week, and while I'm still going to be conscious of people pickpocketing, what I'm worried about at the moment is accommodation. It'll be more than likely a hostel, and whats peeing me off is reading reviews of places saying they have no locks on doors when they advertise as having them. I'm probably being paranoid, whatever happens happens and should just avoid carrying a lot with me.

Has anyone had any problems with things being taken from accommodation?

Maximilian

Its a really lovely city, its just such a shame the crime there is so bad. I've been to cities all over Europe and Barcelona is the worst I have encountered. Just make sure you don't bring anything out with you that you can't afford to lose, especially around the Ramblas area. I think the hotels are probably all fine. Also the Port Olympic area was nice and fairly safe - I saw bouncers make beelines for and forceably eject pickpockets, who they all seemingly know.

keefg

Jeez....Barcalona sounds like somewhere to avoid at all cost.

I also hear it full of Spaniards:D

hot fuss

Barcelona does have a bad rep for petty crime - sounds warranted from posts on this thread.

It can happen anywhere though. We got mugged in Seville by two guys with a big, f*ck off knife and a gun. The police said that this was very rare, but it goes to show it can happen in any city.. If you thought about it too much, you'd never go anywhere, but you really can't let it put you off travelling..

Mr Magnolia

Agree with Hot Fuss. I'd hate to think people were put off traveling to Barcelona.

Mr Magnolia

I was reminded of this last night. It's an absolute must for anyone traveling to Barcelona. I was mad envious coming out that we don't have a food market that comes close in Ireland.

Boqueria Market

eve

I was in Barcelona in April and reading this thread has brought back all the horrible memories of my first day there. My partner and I had just arrived and were on a train from the airport to the city centre. Some musicians got on and played a song. They then went up the length of the carriage to collect money and my partner took his wallet out and dropped some money in. We don't know if it was someone connected to the musicians but someone was watching where he put his wallet (Unfortunately he put it in his bag as he was wearing jeans and thought a zipped pocket was safer).

At our stop we stood up to get off. I got off first and looked back to see that he had got held up by an apparently old woman. As soon as he stepped on the platform he knew something was wrong. He said he thought he had been robbed and after checking the pocket that had contained his wallet, he dropped his bags beside me and ran off. I was completely in shock and started to cry. I took our bags over to the wall and sat on them and waited for him to come back. A few people did come up to me in the 10 mins he was gone but I was so wary because of what happened that I wouldn't really talk to them.

Eventually he came back with a police man and we were directed to go back a station and report it. In the time we were there 3 other people came in after having something stolen. It was a horrible experience and I just wanted to go back to the airport and get the first flight home. We went to our hotel and spoke to his family who told us to take it easy and stay where we were for a few hours.

In the end we decided to stay for the time we had originally planned and I am glad we did. If we had left my only memories on Barcelona would have been horrible ones. But now I have memories, momentos and photos of the city and what we did. The markets were fabulous and it was great to see the Olympic area as it was the earlies Olympics I remember. We also got to see sagrada Familia, the zoo and numerous other places I can't remember right not.

We didn't take public transport for the rest of the week-I would highly recommend a 2 Day ticket for the Bus Turistic. Take the Blue line one day and the red the other. We did spend a lot of time on the Ramblas but the events of the first day may us far more aware of who was around us and being able to spot a trap/scam. For anyone intending to go to the city there are a few sites on the net about security in the city. One of the best sites was http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/ and in particular their 'Safety Tips' section.