Barcelona: Pickpocket Capital of Europe

I’ve been living in Barcelona for over three months now, and I have yet to feel unsafe here. In fact, I feel safer walking home by myself at night here in Barcelona than I did at my college in the U.S walking to the off-campus convenience store for a late-night snack. That’ s not to say that nothing bad ever happens in Barcelona — crime can occur anywhere, but for the most part, it’ s a very safe place to travel.

The real crime that happens in Barcelona is not the stuff of “ Nancy Grace,” but petty pickpocketing. Barcelona is the pickpocket capital of Europe, where thieves have wallet-reaching and purse-grabbing down to a science. I’ ve even heard that thieves come here to train, staging elaborate distractions on the metro. It’ s not just the tourists that fall victim to the thieves, but the locals do too, making it a real problem in the city.

The real crime that happens in Barcelona is not the stuff of “ Nancy Grace,” but petty pickpocketing. Barcelona is the pickpocket capital of Europe, where thieves have wallet-reaching and purse-grabbing down to a science.

While I’ ve thankfully never had anything stolen here in Barcelona, I’ve heard several stories from others who have. One of my friends from our study abroad program told me about the time she thwarted a pickpocketing couples’ plan to make off with her purse at a McDonald’ s. She noticed the couple had been acting strangely while she sat with a friend enjoying a McFlurry off La Rambla, the main tourist drag. When the couple got up after not having eaten anything, my friend looked down to find that her purse had been stolen right from under her chair.

She immediately knew what had happened since the couple had been acting so suspiciously, and chased the couple to the stairs of the four-story McDonalds shouting, “ Que haces?” – “ What are you doing?” — in Spanish. Thanks to her quick thinking, the couple dropped her purse and ran.

Barcelona: Pickpocket Capital of Europe.

The Barcelona Mcburglers incident occurred shortly after we arrived in Spain. Since then, we’ ve all been even more vigilant of our belongings in public and haven’t had anymore close calls. That is, we hadn’t until just last week. Another friend of mine was shopping and had her wallet stolen from one of the pockets in her backpack. Never unthinkingly stash a wallet in an outside pocket while you’re shopping. It’s an easy reach for an experienced pickpocket.

Sometimes thieves will take the cash from a wallet, and then toss the rest in a nearby trash can. My friend thought that her wallet may have been in the trash, so she got in line with the other dumpster divers to dig through the nearest garbage bin. Unfortunately, after waiting in line she didn’ t find her wallet among the rubbish. Luckily, the store owner discovered her wallet on the floor the following day with my friend’s cash and used metropass missing, but her credit card still there.

To avoid something like this happening, the best advice I can give you is that you can never be too paranoid! Always carry your bag in front of you.

Not all the girls in our study abroad program have been lucky enough to get most of their belongings back. The night before her flight back to the U.S, a girl had her purse,jacket, and keys stolen from a club. The girl had been watching the communal purse pile at the discoteca for her friends, but glanced away for one moment and her purse was gone, along with her passport, keys, and credit card.

To avoid something like this happening, the best advice I can give you is that you can never be too paranoid! Always carry your bag in front of you. When you are at a restaurant, café, or bar make sure that your purse is on your lap or attached to your chair where you can see it. It’ s also a good idea not to carry your passport or all of your cash on you just in case the worst happens. Also, avoid super touristy areas, not only because they aren’ t as cool to explore, but because there are more thieves there to take advantage
of the less savvy travelers.

Lastly, a decoy purse filled with your used metro passes, or maybe a padlock and chain for your purse wouldn’ t be such a bad investment.

 

Photo for Barcelona: Pickpocket Capital of Europe by  Anna Casey.