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Criminality Algarve

Criminality Algarve

Old Oct 11th 2017, 12:24 pm
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Default Criminality Algarve

Yesterday we contacted a real estate agent for a house and she told me the house needs complete renovation because everything was stolen, even the doors inside the house. Just everything!

Today in the news that a 70 year old expat couple in Mexilhoeira Grande were attacked by men with guns at 10.40 pm. The man was wounded.

We lived 20 years in France and are not at all used to crime. The more and more crime in the Algarve?? The place where you can have a "successful career" as a criminal ........
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Old Oct 11th 2017, 1:00 pm
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Default Re: Criminality Algarve

In that case, just stay in France. Simple.
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Old Oct 11th 2017, 1:31 pm
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Default Re: Criminality Algarve

If you think the crime's bad, wait till you experience the driving

Seriously though, you'd have to see the country through a very odd prism indeed to think it's a major problem. There is, at times, a rather morbid concentration on it here but overall it's a very safe country indeed. And 3rd on last year's World Peace Index
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Old Oct 11th 2017, 3:06 pm
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Default Re: Criminality Algarve

There's crime everywhere; newspapers report the exciting bits, especially when it's less common.
Statistics would be useful but when I asked at the GNR they told me they can't tell me.

As a person perceived as more wealthy in an area, you are more likely to be targeted by any thief working there.

I don't think crime is more prevalent here, but it does happen.
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Old Oct 12th 2017, 9:41 am
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Default Re: Criminality Algarve

Portugal is very, very safe. I feel the safest here that I have anywhere I have lived before. I recall according to some international survey, it's the 3rd most peaceful/safe country in the world.

Re the house needing complete renovation - I have seen this with houses that are abandoned. The bank owns it, but does nothing to look after the place, the grass grows high, it gets graffiti, eventually some people come and loot it. It's not going to happen to places that are occupied or maintained.

In the news there was a crime reported? Without knowing the circumstances, I would imagine this couple were either extremely wealthy or that this was in some way related to business they were involved in, so someone unsavoury had inside knowledge and targeted them. It's unheard of in most of portugal. My brother lives in a safe place in the US, but his nightly news has shootings and so on not that far from him on a nightly basis.

The news will report things because they're unusual and hence newsworthy but this is a country of 10 million or so people, so have to get those things in perspective. I am sure there is much worse happening across france in some places.
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Old Oct 12th 2017, 11:07 am
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Default Re: Criminality Algarve

I agree that Portugal is a relatively safe place, but there is crime, and it can happen to anybody.
A couple of years ago there was a rash of brutal home invasions in the Loule /Silves area, mainly targeting immigrants. The [alleged] perps were caught and I haven't heard of any since.

However, there has been robberies in tourist areas, sometimes violent. It was in the news.

I think one should never get too complacent, or blame the victims.
Be prepared, check your doors at night, maybe have a dog.
I've been burgled on 3 continents, but not in Portugal so far.
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Old Oct 12th 2017, 1:05 pm
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Default Re: Criminality Algarve

Originally Posted by liveaboard
I agree that Portugal is a relatively safe place, but there is crime, and it can happen to anybody.
A couple of years ago there was a rash of brutal home invasions in the Loule /Silves area, mainly targeting immigrants. The [alleged] perps were caught and I haven't heard of any since.

However, there has been robberies in tourist areas, sometimes violent. It was in the news.

I think one should never get too complacent, or blame the victims.
Be prepared, check your doors at night, maybe have a dog.
I've been burgled on 3 continents, but not in Portugal so far.
We live in a majority Portuguese area in the unfashionable side of Carvoeiro.
Have yet to hear of any significant crime issues.
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Old Oct 15th 2017, 9:35 pm
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Default Re: Criminality Algarve

Originally Posted by Pilou
Yesterday we contacted a real estate agent for a house and she told me the house needs complete renovation because everything was stolen, even the doors inside the house. Just everything!

Today in the news that a 70 year old expat couple in Mexilhoeira Grande were attacked by men with guns at 10.40 pm. The man was wounded.

We lived 20 years in France and are not at all used to crime. The more and more crime in the Algarve?? The place where you can have a "successful career" as a criminal ........
Pilou You have to get it in proportion. I'm afraid certain ex-pats have been targets of theft (and yes sometimes brutal thefts.). There was indeed a gang of eastern europeans who targeted areas around Loule for awhile . On a couple of occasions the victims have been Dutch and i have wondered why that might be?
I lived in NL for many years.. We were robbed no less than 13 times in NL. From small thefts of bicycles,and would you believe 'roses' to a large break in of the house.It didn't actually make me feel less safe in the Netherlands.which was odd, because there were some very brutal crimes going on around us..
. What I am saying is there is usually some explanation for these things.. some connections perhaps with the perpetrators.In the case of the bicycle thefts.. we lived opposite a school.The roses? the police told us it was the time of the year for planting them!!!? . For the house break in. We rented the house from a large company.Other rentees houses were broken into, so someone in the company had our address's and knew we were ex-pats etc etc.
The Algarve is one of the safest places in the world .Portugal as a whole is . Your highly unlikely to be a victim of crime here. Unlike many other countries.

Last edited by GeniB; Oct 15th 2017 at 9:37 pm.
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Old Oct 16th 2017, 4:50 am
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Default Re: Criminality Algarve

Originally Posted by GeniB
Pilou You have to get it in proportion. I'm afraid certain ex-pats have been targets of theft (and yes sometimes brutal thefts.). There was indeed a gang of eastern europeans who targeted areas around Loule for awhile . On a couple of occasions the victims have been Dutch and i have wondered why that might be?
I lived in NL for many years.. We were robbed no less than 13 times in NL. From small thefts of bicycles,and would you believe 'roses' to a large break in of the house.It didn't actually make me feel less safe in the Netherlands.which was odd, because there were some very brutal crimes going on around us..
. What I am saying is there is usually some explanation for these things.. some connections perhaps with the perpetrators.In the case of the bicycle thefts.. we lived opposite a school.The roses? the police told us it was the time of the year for planting them!!!? . For the house break in. We rented the house from a large company.Other rentees houses were broken into, so someone in the company had our address's and knew we were ex-pats etc etc.
The Algarve is one of the safest places in the world .Portugal as a whole is . Your highly unlikely to be a victim of crime here. Unlike many other countries.
I agree. The Netherlands has a relatively high crime rate. We left the Netherlands 20 years ago and live since then in the south of France where break-ins are very rare.

The house where everything was stolen had no shutters, nu bars, no gate etc. Maybe there would not have been any problem when the owner would have taken care of a kind of protection. There were no neighbors at that time.
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Old Oct 16th 2017, 8:09 am
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Default Re: Criminality Algarve

Originally Posted by Pilou
I agree. The Netherlands has a relatively high crime rate. We left the Netherlands 20 years ago and live since then in the south of France where break-ins are very rare.

The house where everything was stolen had no shutters, nu bars, no gate etc. Maybe there would not have been any problem when the owner would have taken care of a kind of protection. There were no neighbors at that time.
It does sound as if the house was abandoned.It is however very unusual for a house to be stripped in that way.. Maybe there is a back story. The owner didn't pay the builder? It does sound like a bankruptcy
We have enormous villa's around us that we have never seen anyone visit in the 6yrs we have been here. Also no bars on the windows (which is actually more a Spanish feature ) Gates? of course...
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Old Oct 16th 2017, 8:22 am
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Default Re: Criminality Algarve

Originally Posted by GeniB
It does sound as if the house was abandoned.It is however very unusual for a house to be stripped in that way.. Maybe there is a back story. The owner didn't pay the builder? It does sound like a bankruptcy
We have enormous villa's around us that we have never seen anyone visit in the 6yrs we have been here. Also no bars on the windows (which is actually more a Spanish feature ) Gates? of course...
There are a couple of reasons for the bars on the windows in Spain. One is down to the insurance companies who will not insure your house unless it has bars on the downstairs windows. Another is purely so that people can open their windows for fresh air without the worry of any one getting into the house.

I am surprised that it is not similar in Portugal.

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Old Oct 16th 2017, 8:25 am
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Default Re: Criminality Algarve

Originally Posted by GeniB
It does sound as if the house was abandoned.It is however very unusual for a house to be stripped in that way.. Maybe there is a back story. The owner didn't pay the builder? It does sound like a bankruptcy
We have enormous villa's around us that we have never seen anyone visit in the 6yrs we have been here. Also no bars on the windows (which is actually more a Spanish feature ) Gates? of course...
It is not a bank property. When it was, I could understand. We plan to see this house and try to find out what the reason was.
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Old Oct 16th 2017, 8:32 am
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Default Re: Criminality Algarve

Originally Posted by Pilou
It is not a bank property. When it was, I could understand. We plan to see this house and try to find out what the reason was.
We were told of one last week where one party in an acrimonious divorce removed the windows, internal doors, toilets sinks etc and sold them on.It eventually fell into the hands of the bankruptcy administrator and has been bought by a builder to rebuild and sell on.
If you are no longer interested in the property why bother to find out the reason for its current state.
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Old Oct 16th 2017, 8:39 am
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Default Re: Criminality Algarve

Originally Posted by EMR
We were told of one last week where one party in an acrimonious divorce removed the windows, internal doors, toilets sinks etc and sold them on.It eventually fell into the hands of the bankruptcy administrator and has been bought by a builder to rebuild and sell on.
If you are no longer interested in the property why bother to find out the reason for its current state.
Because we only have 2 houses to visit, this house is now back on our list! When we cannot find a suitable house, we will explore the Silver Coast.
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Old Oct 16th 2017, 8:45 am
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Default Re: Criminality Algarve

We do in fact have metal bars on our downstairs windows in Tavira, as indeed do some of our Portuguese neighbours. It is so we can leave the windows open without any worry of anybody getting in to steal our belongings or even worse our grandchild. I have seen a lot of them on the older Portuguese houses in the town of Tavira, very sensible.
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