This one should run a bit !!! REMEMBER THOUGH that CRIME IS A WORLDWIDE ISSUE and NOT JUST IN SPAIN !!! PERSPECTIVE PLEASE

PLUS WE IMPORT CRIME - I do not believe for one minute that it's always the Moroccans or eastern Europeans - I'm fairly confident the odd Ex-pat partakes in crime, dodgy deals, tax evasion, floating driving laws, planning permission and stealing (ahem!! builder's materials )...

Only the other day a neighbour had her pool pump stolen in the night (house is unoccupied most of the time ) !!! And rumour is that it's someone local !!!

The "have-nots" (or unscrupulous) will always take from the "haves" wherever you leave temptation.

I'm not a religious man but "let those that have not sinned.... " comes to mind.

It depends where you live. I leave my house unlocked all day, my laptop unattended on the porch, never lock the cars, cultivator, mixer, strimmer, etc outdoors and have not had a theft in 7 years. The opposite end of the spectrum, of course, is Torrevieja which, per capita, is the crime capital of Spain.

Me too - tempting fate to mention it, but my OH has palpitations when I say I've gone out in the car & not only is the house unlocked but the doors wide open & sometimes the laptop on the outside table! Only place I ever had something stolen from in the country was an ornamental cherry tree (yes, you read right) towed out of the ground outside our house in Suffolk.

In it´s defence, Torrevieja has calmed down a lot. I live in Playa Flamenca and we have no trouble here. It´s like any urban area, you have your nice parts and your not so nice parts.

You missed out the Spanish, many think ex-pats are rich and fair game.

Its the bloody police .... they commit minor crimes against extranjeros all the time

VERY recently a friend was looking at 3 month in jail because he had a NZ driving license and even tho he has spanish friends to help ... they put him in jail with court the next day.... eventually it did get sorted but they just don't listen to you ... you're guilty unitil proved otherwise.

they regularly commit abuses of power...it's like a natural thing with them :curse:

Somebody I know was burgled a month ago - they woke up feeling sick and had been gassed - it's that sort of crime that concerns me because I've not heard of that in the UK.

When you have a young family those sorts of stories do worry you.

I wonder with the credit crisis turning into a depression what effect that will have - just how desperate will people become? Will people end up leaving Spain becuase of a huge surge in violent crime?

How do people think the police are doing? Are they getting a handle on the crimespots?

Mark

Only a Euro licence is valid, others need a driving permit accompaniment and then they can only be used for a certain amount of time, then they would have to take a Spanish test.
Driving without a licence has been moved up to a criminal offence and a possible jail sentence.

There have been other threads on this gassing rubbish, do a search.

I wonder with the credit crisis turning into a depression what effect that will have - just how desperate will people become? Will people end up leaving Spain becuase of a huge surge in violent crime?

Mark[/QUOTE]

Isn't that one of the reasons why many people have left or are leaving the U.K.?

But people are fighting back.... HERE

gassing is a popular and highly effective way to steal.you administer the gas through any vents whilst they are sleeping.then they dont wake up while they are getting robbed.

That's a load of rubbish, an internet myth. Has been debunked lots of time including on this forum.

Im always telling people I have heard of little crime since we have been here last several years, but this week there has been a spate of burglaries on the mountain .... its regrettably being put down to the fruit pickers

Could it be the other way round? The "haves" (or unscrupulous) will always take from the "have nots" where ever you leave temptation.