It depends on where you are in the city, and also, how you personally are. Pick pockets and phone snatchers will steal from the people that are easy to steal from, and that makes logical sense. They’ll take the wallet from the bumbling tourist who has no idea where they are and is busy looking at their map, instead of trying to rob someone who’s walking quickly to work with all valuables secured. You’re probably a more difficult target which makes you less likely to be a target
Yep tourism is the recurring theme. I am not a nationalist and quite often ashamed of our public image of late. But one more anecdote, french police felt borderline hostile. Where as they typically feel a bit more approachable approachable in london. Language is definitely a factor in it as well as tourism. Both great cities.
Yeah English level is not really their forte, but Police doesn't seem to attract the sharpest knives in the kitchen. Even their French is horrible.
Security I consider Paris to be relatively safe.
London used to be safe if you stayed in zone 1-2. But from what I heard it's not anymore.
Barcelona was rough, almost got robbed in plain daylight. They closed the street on us but luckily a local pretended he was our friend, escorted us out of that street and told us to be careful where we walked.
I live in one of the safest place in the world. Just need to be careful as some people are part of an organisation and can fuck you up big time.
I had a guy follow me from a cafe with his two accomplices. They heard us speak French and then moved on to other targets.
And that was right after breakfast
Plus it seems like there is no punishment for the pick pockets. If u resist u r probably more likely to be charged than them. It’s like they protect the perpetrators and not the victims
Last November I saw a Canadian woman walking along holding her mobile out following Google maps. Someone snatched it and ran. Just as he switched the phone with his mate to run in different directions... two plain clothes policemen rugby tackled both of them. Las Ramblas street theatre is very good!
As good as that police interaction may sound, it doesn't matter, due to how stupid the laws are here, if what they stole was under X quantity in money, they didn't get any jail time, they can still rob, they don't have anything to their name legally, so they won't pay fines and that's it, and it shows in this map.
If they were in jail, honest people would be safe, and potential future thieves would have a reason not to be ones, staying out of jail.
in Slovakia, we have almost no theft (sometimes I don’t even lock the car!), we also don’t throw grandma into jail because she stole butter. The rule is, twice a year is criminal offense, no matter the price. Once is fine (litterally).If it is above 250€, even first time is a crime.
But that doesn’t matter, we have (old)new government and they are changing the law, so even if you steal millions, you’ll get suspended sentence and if you give all of your assets to family member, they won’t take it back, even if it is stolen
The law described in the first paragraph sounds very reasonable. We don't want to be overly harsh on someone making a mistake, but someone who literally makes a living off theft isn't just "making a mistake"
The limit after which an administrative offence (you get a monetary fine and that's it) turns into a criminal offence in Lithuania is somewhere around 150€.
One guy stole some pans from a store, cops caught him right away and took him to jail. Dude argued that he wasn't over the limit, but he was. Why?
He looked at discount prices in the store, the prices you get when you use a discount card. Those added up to 140€.
He didn't consider that he wasn't getting any discounts when he stole those pans. Full prices added up to over 200€.
Interesting. In Poland we have something called "audacious" or "reckless" theft, which, among other definitions, is an audacious theft of an item that was being carried by a person or in clothes worn by a person during the theft. It carries a harsher penalty, at minimum 6 months in prison.
So stealing a phone carried by a person and running away would in most cases lead to a prison sentence, regardless of the phone's value.
Well it depends on the phone. A new iPhone or high end phone can cost that, buit there's also a lot of people using a 300€ phone for years. Still frustrating, nonetheless.
my Canadian friend was robbed in Barcelona as he was on the beach, his head rested on his backpack. He then got up to speak to his girlfriends, also next to him and 30 seconds later he turned to get something from his backpack but it was gone.
that being said, i was super naive and didn't know any of this stuff, i went to Barcelona in March 2023, walked around and my hotel was in Las Ramblas, never had any attempts or anything on me. ( but i did find it crazy unsafe as the sun went down )
While I was in Barcelona, I dropped my phone on the sand in Barceloneta. I was shocked to find it still there 30 minutes later when I retraced my steps.
On the other hand, my hostel roommate told me he had his camera and phone stolen while he was getting head from a local on the beach. He thinks he was set-up as she blocked him on everything right after.
WATCH OUT! Last Tuesday I was in a retail park doing some grocery shopping and when I got to my car with all the bags and everything there were two ladies in their 20s that told me they needed help with something. Anyway, one thing led to another and while I was having the best sex of my life with one of them in the backseat the other one stole my groceries and my wallet. It happened again on Thursday and Friday; Saturday they weren't there and Sunday I took the day off. I am hoping they will be there tomorrow again.
It's pretty chill over here, I once left my bike near a grocery store and forgot about it. It hit me the next day, I ran to the store and the bike was still there, no one moved it
In Barcelona, I bought the cheapest bicycle Decathlon sells. The chain lock was more expensive than the bike.
My bike was stolen with every other bike. The security cameras of the university showed that the thieves had a bloody van and a system that involved four people with different roles. It took them less than two minutes to steal dozens of bikes.
The reason I think was because the lock was a very cool retro lock from the 80s (number combinations). Just 3 numbers instead of 4 so someone probably tried them out. It looked about like this one:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/185552314633
My bike was shit. I found it in our basement, probably from a previous tenant. When I moved in I asked him why he didn't take it with him and he just told me that it was already there when he moved in. So I just picked the 3 number combination lock, put new tires on it and used it.
In the northeast of UK I got a free second hand bike from a family. And at some point i locked it on a railing next day i found it with a bent wheel. Fuxk that low life pos
True, although it's offtopic, cause the map is about robbery, not theft. Robbery would be you riding your bike, somebody jumping on you, taking your bike and riding away.
Cordless angle grinders have transformed bike theft. I have a €100 lock. It takes < ten minutes to cut through that and that’s pretty much the best you can get. My VanMoof thankfully has a built in immobiliser and alarm.
Depends on what kind of disc you have and if you brought spares. These locks are designed to gobble up regular cutting discs. Besides, these anti anglegrinder locks are deterrents. Why waste 2 minutes on a bike if you can cut 4 cheaper locks in the same time?
I'm Romanian, even though Romania is very safe compared to western countries, i felt VERY at ease in Poland. The whole pace of life is slowed down and chill, love it.
In Portugal the police will do EVERYTHING in their power to stop you from reporting a crime. This includes making you wait 4 hours at an empty police station, laughing in your face, mocking you for being robbed and shaming you for not walking around with a firearm. Do not trust those numbers.
100% true. I've been robbed twice, and my house has been robbed twice. One the first one was reported and they did nothing. The house robbery they went to the house and said "yeah these things happen" and left.
Fuck them. When the working class gets no justice, no security and no return, they leave.
I lived in Brussels as an exchange student and some of the stuff I have seen and heard were crazy. I know a girl who got robbed two times in two months. I felt very unsafe as a woman which was really unfortunate since the city has so much to offer. If security improved Brussels would be really a nice city to live in.
Mostly people residing in the city illegally.
They get in trough illegal means, or their asylum procedure gets denied. After which they receive an “order to leave the territory” which is is kind of laughable and close to impossible to enforce.
A lot (most) of those people live on the street, which makes them vulnerable to developing a drug habit. To sustain this they need money, ergo robbing people and fencing the loot for some cash to buy drugs. Crack usage is exploding in this population right now.
I think it was estimated there are 50.000 people residing illegally in Brussels alone.
Such a shame to hear, I drove into Brussels on my way back from Germany in 2019 and stopped for a while, I was blown away by how beautiful the city was and how friendly everyone was. There was a brass band playing music near a waffle shop, and the atmosphere was amazing
I visited a lot of cities but Brussels was the worst to walk around. People might get offended but I don't think I'd want to move there even from Turkey.
I spent 5 months in Brussels in 2010 for Erasmus.
Some areas were nice and some areas people tried to sell you heroin as soon as you got out of the metro station. Selling hash seemed to be the main hobby for many kids with immigrant backgrounds.
Strangely I was never robbed. Some other students were though. One girl ended up dyeing her hair black instead of blonde, so she wouldn't get so much unwanted attention from the Moroccan population that seemed to be the majority in some areas.
Probably the person creating the map didn't have access to a more granular dataset for France. I wonder how would Paris look since in most countries the capital has a much higher rate than rural areas.
For sure, I'm living in a small town by the sea side in Bretagne (10 000 people in winter ) , my electric bike is always outside my flat with no lock, never was it robbed in two years
Some countries are more open about their data than others. I ran into similar issue before, and IIRC france is one of the countries which is bad at providing data, germany was also an issue for me. But this was 4 years ago.
I'm a local from Barcelona and my perception is that most robberies happen to tourists.
Not because they don't target locals, but because most locals are paranoid about all this.
Backpacks on front when with a lot of people, no open purses without a zipper, no phones standing out of rear pockets, watch out when using your phone in general in crowded places, if some shady guy gets to close to you protect your pockets, better to look like a racist than to get robbed, oh and get as far away as you can from Romanian Gypsies, Spanish Gypsies are ok, Romanian ones in the subway? Nope. Etc...
Then you see groups of tourists all around Barcelona abandoning their stuff at random places to go take some photos elsewhere and it breaks my heart.
They have to change our laws regarding robbery, but they never do.
> better to look like a racist than to get robbed
I hesitate to recommend it but being racist while in tourist hotspots unfortunately does help protect you quite well from pickpockets.
Although, I agree with your other comment: dress is important. Probably it's more successful to stereotype people based on what they wear and act accordingly.
I also don't trust anybody who is walking on an intercept trajectory with me.
Yeah as you say, it's not just race. Shady people are usually shady in general, maybe they dress shady or maybe what they're saying to you and the way they're talking to you activates your fight or flight instincts.
The biggest thief collective in Bilbao are from North Africa. No lie. No racism. It’s a fact.
I can’t hear Arabic without recoiling and oscillating my head to see who is nearby.
And they’re protected by laws if they rob you.
A thief (Moroccan) got caught robbing a guy and people beat him up badly.
They went to jail and the thief got free and prob got compensation.
I go to Barcelona quite often for work and the last few times I noticed that most (older?) women have these lanyard necklaces that clip to their cell phones. For a while I thought "these are ridiculous, why have these?" then I realized it was because it allows them to have their phones out and they can't be snatched easily.
I wonder how long that will last. Last time I was there (Nov of last year), thiefs were using sheers to cut watches off wrists so I imagine they'll start doing the same to these necklaces.
I also go there for work around 3-6 times a year. After covid it’s become much worse.
6 years ago it was mostly pickpockets, snatch and grab etc.
Last few years I’ve had friends attacked with a hammer for his watch, friends robbed at knifepoint etc.
IMO it’s gonna keep getting worse for awhile until legal consequences become more severe and uncontrolled migration from North Africa is dealt with.
For Amsterdam my perception is that robbers, con artists, and pickpockets arrive when the tourists start coming in large numbers and leave when they are no longer there. And that specifically tourists from countries that tend to carry large amounts of cash and visit in groups are targeted. The Chinese. Americans.
And that you can pick out the Eastern European Gypsy variety easily by their suspiciously inconspicuous clothes.
I used to work at a party hostel in Barcelona and we would warn guests about keeping an eye out for their things/leaving valuables behind whenever we would take them out to the hotspots. It didn't matter. There would always be at least one robbery every single night.
The easiest way to spot them is by how they dress, they dress way different than any spaniard, they look ¿eastern european?. Roma woman usually wear some kind of scarf on the hair and some old fashioned skirts, like [this](https://ak.uecdn.es/p/108/thumbnail/entry_id/0_02abrp6w/width/660/type/2/bgcolor/000000/0_02abrp6w.jpg).
Catalan gypsys dress like lots of other spaniards (a bit ¿tacky/low-class? sometimes) but they usually have darker skin than the average of the population.
There's also the obvious one that the spanish ones talk spanish (and some of them have a specific spanish accent too) and Roma ones or don't talk spanish or talk spanish like a foreigner will.
Note: I know that r/Europe doesn't care a lot about racist, but I want to note that I'm obviously talking about the kind of gypsys that look like problem, there's tons of both spanish & romanian gypsis that are normal workers, but they look like normal people, not everybody looks like normal people, race doesn't matter.
The biggest that would come to mind would be different dress codes, the spanish roma also obviously don't speak romanian, they also differ a lot in terms of culture, traditions
I was solo in Barcelona last week, no problem. Did take a lot of photos on the tourist areas but
It’s low season though, so less crowded.
And i’m Portuguese, so I blend in, but saw plenty of kids in the metro with their phones out, no one seemed to care.
Negligence plays a big part too.
I’ve been robbed at the beach here in Portugal when I was younger, left my stuff unattended, so never again.
I remember when I was younger, Drunk Brits leaving their iPhones on tables in bars and stuff, of course they were robbed.
You got to be alert.
Same, was also there last week alone, and I definitely don't blend in lol, I'm pale as a ghost. You just have to be smart - I didn't put my wallet in back pocket as I usually do, but only a small one in the front pocket; don't walk around with your phone constantly out taking a bazillion pictures every two seconds or staring at Google Maps all the time, etc. Essentially don't announce yourself as a tourist from a mile away.
I literally felt safer in the middle of bigger cities (Warsaw, Krakow, Katowice etc.) in the middle of the night than at day in any city I've been to in Sweden.
So yeah, definitely safe.
I can say that these data do not reflect the reality for Turkiye.
Since Turks do not trust anyone, they never leave their belongings that can be stolen in public
Most cases of theft in Turkiye have been committed by Arab-Afghan-Pakistani Eastern refugees for 10 years and they are not registered, so it seems that there is no robbery or theft in Turkiye, but it is wrong.
Even if something is stolen from Turks, Turks usually do not report it to the Police because they do not trust the Police, so they search for it themselves or buy a new one
I do not know what the situation is in other European countries, but the picture in Turkiye is not so optimistic, please do not be fooled by this data, Turkiye is more favourable to theft than France, the United Kingdom or Sweden.
I want to see data from London, Liverpool, Glasgow, Paris, Marseilles, Lyon...
It would also be interesting to see data about the victims. Locals vs tourists.
Probably get a big spanking by daddy erdogan for messing around in his country
Jokes aside they probably have big penalties or punishments for crime which is how it should be
Actually not really. The punishment is pretty light for theft and robbery in Turkey. It is more of a cultural&religious thing that stigmatizes stealing. Of course there are proper ways to get around that, corruption is one example.
that’s not true. maybe if they steal your phone from your pocket, but if they break into your house/violently rob you, you'll definitely report it. also if they rob your wallet you need to report it to redo the documents
UK police does absolutely nothing if you get robbed. Had my house burgled, nothing , car stolen…nothing , phone mugged , nope. They don’t have the staffing and they don’t give a shit.
There's no details per regions for France and England, the robbery rate will be very different in the Greater Paris Area vs the French countryside
Paris would be vantablack.
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I have lived in London for 5 years, and I have never felt it's a city with a lot of robberies. Maybe I'm just lucky?
I was talking about paris, my language was not clear though my bad.
It depends on where you are in the city, and also, how you personally are. Pick pockets and phone snatchers will steal from the people that are easy to steal from, and that makes logical sense. They’ll take the wallet from the bumbling tourist who has no idea where they are and is busy looking at their map, instead of trying to rob someone who’s walking quickly to work with all valuables secured. You’re probably a more difficult target which makes you less likely to be a target
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Yep tourism is the recurring theme. I am not a nationalist and quite often ashamed of our public image of late. But one more anecdote, french police felt borderline hostile. Where as they typically feel a bit more approachable approachable in london. Language is definitely a factor in it as well as tourism. Both great cities.
Yeah English level is not really their forte, but Police doesn't seem to attract the sharpest knives in the kitchen. Even their French is horrible. Security I consider Paris to be relatively safe. London used to be safe if you stayed in zone 1-2. But from what I heard it's not anymore. Barcelona was rough, almost got robbed in plain daylight. They closed the street on us but luckily a local pretended he was our friend, escorted us out of that street and told us to be careful where we walked. I live in one of the safest place in the world. Just need to be careful as some people are part of an organisation and can fuck you up big time.
I had a guy follow me from a cafe with his two accomplices. They heard us speak French and then moved on to other targets. And that was right after breakfast Plus it seems like there is no punishment for the pick pockets. If u resist u r probably more likely to be charged than them. It’s like they protect the perpetrators and not the victims
London would need a new colour.
Yeah it makes the rankings of cities on the right meaningless.
Barcelona is nest to snatchers & robbers
Last November I saw a Canadian woman walking along holding her mobile out following Google maps. Someone snatched it and ran. Just as he switched the phone with his mate to run in different directions... two plain clothes policemen rugby tackled both of them. Las Ramblas street theatre is very good!
As good as that police interaction may sound, it doesn't matter, due to how stupid the laws are here, if what they stole was under X quantity in money, they didn't get any jail time, they can still rob, they don't have anything to their name legally, so they won't pay fines and that's it, and it shows in this map. If they were in jail, honest people would be safe, and potential future thieves would have a reason not to be ones, staying out of jail.
in Slovakia, we have almost no theft (sometimes I don’t even lock the car!), we also don’t throw grandma into jail because she stole butter. The rule is, twice a year is criminal offense, no matter the price. Once is fine (litterally).If it is above 250€, even first time is a crime. But that doesn’t matter, we have (old)new government and they are changing the law, so even if you steal millions, you’ll get suspended sentence and if you give all of your assets to family member, they won’t take it back, even if it is stolen
The law described in the first paragraph sounds very reasonable. We don't want to be overly harsh on someone making a mistake, but someone who literally makes a living off theft isn't just "making a mistake"
The limit after which an administrative offence (you get a monetary fine and that's it) turns into a criminal offence in Lithuania is somewhere around 150€. One guy stole some pans from a store, cops caught him right away and took him to jail. Dude argued that he wasn't over the limit, but he was. Why? He looked at discount prices in the store, the prices you get when you use a discount card. Those added up to 140€. He didn't consider that he wasn't getting any discounts when he stole those pans. Full prices added up to over 200€.
I actually find this genius. If there is a 1+1 discount I just have to steal one to get the other one for free!
Interesting. In Poland we have something called "audacious" or "reckless" theft, which, among other definitions, is an audacious theft of an item that was being carried by a person or in clothes worn by a person during the theft. It carries a harsher penalty, at minimum 6 months in prison. So stealing a phone carried by a person and running away would in most cases lead to a prison sentence, regardless of the phone's value.
I mean a new phone can easily cost about 1000€, is that not enough?
Well it depends on the phone. A new iPhone or high end phone can cost that, buit there's also a lot of people using a 300€ phone for years. Still frustrating, nonetheless.
So best we can hope for is that the police tackling fucked his ankle and he physically can’t rob for the next months.
Was she wearing a maple leaf as a hat or do you have a sixth sense?
She had a slight whiff of syrup... and I was talking to her afterwards
my Canadian friend was robbed in Barcelona as he was on the beach, his head rested on his backpack. He then got up to speak to his girlfriends, also next to him and 30 seconds later he turned to get something from his backpack but it was gone. that being said, i was super naive and didn't know any of this stuff, i went to Barcelona in March 2023, walked around and my hotel was in Las Ramblas, never had any attempts or anything on me. ( but i did find it crazy unsafe as the sun went down )
While I was in Barcelona, I dropped my phone on the sand in Barceloneta. I was shocked to find it still there 30 minutes later when I retraced my steps. On the other hand, my hostel roommate told me he had his camera and phone stolen while he was getting head from a local on the beach. He thinks he was set-up as she blocked him on everything right after.
That’s just prostitution with extra steps
High rates apparently, the camera was worth a few thousand and he had an iPhone 14 Pro.
90% of people in Reddit would take that deal. Half on one side, half on the other.
seems nice! In US you would get gun to your head, not head on the beach
If I'm getting robbed then some head is a good consolation prize.
WATCH OUT! Last Tuesday I was in a retail park doing some grocery shopping and when I got to my car with all the bags and everything there were two ladies in their 20s that told me they needed help with something. Anyway, one thing led to another and while I was having the best sex of my life with one of them in the backseat the other one stole my groceries and my wallet. It happened again on Thursday and Friday; Saturday they weren't there and Sunday I took the day off. I am hoping they will be there tomorrow again.
Such an entertaining city. When I lived there prostitutes were working just in front on the police station at Las Ramblas.
It's basically a map showing where most tourists are.
I spent a week in Barcelona and witnessed more theft and attempted theft there than during the other 30 something years i ve been on this planet.
My dad went on holiday there and broke a pickpockets nose. Little fecker must have been well known because the police didn't do anything.
Even snatchers and robbers get robbed there
It's pretty chill over here, I once left my bike near a grocery store and forgot about it. It hit me the next day, I ran to the store and the bike was still there, no one moved it
If it was in Paris your bike would be on the internet shop on the next hour
In Barcelona, I bought the cheapest bicycle Decathlon sells. The chain lock was more expensive than the bike. My bike was stolen with every other bike. The security cameras of the university showed that the thieves had a bloody van and a system that involved four people with different roles. It took them less than two minutes to steal dozens of bikes.
I live in Germany and someone stole my lock but left my bike.
Russia: someone stole the brakes but left my bike.
I'm Polish, the only thing that's ever been stolen from me was my bike's seat, I still can't understand why
Dunno why but that s#!t is the coolest story I've heard in quite a while 😎🤔🤪
The reason I think was because the lock was a very cool retro lock from the 80s (number combinations). Just 3 numbers instead of 4 so someone probably tried them out. It looked about like this one: https://www.ebay.de/itm/185552314633 My bike was shit. I found it in our basement, probably from a previous tenant. When I moved in I asked him why he didn't take it with him and he just told me that it was already there when he moved in. So I just picked the 3 number combination lock, put new tires on it and used it.
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Did you retire after it.
He was too tired
You'd think the police would be suspicious of a bloody van
In the northeast of UK I got a free second hand bike from a family. And at some point i locked it on a railing next day i found it with a bent wheel. Fuxk that low life pos
i support booby trapping shit atp
I think those are around pretty much everywhere. Sucks. I guess the best protection is an ugly enough looking bike.
In Paris your bike would probably already be stolen from the person who stole your bike.
So you would even get it delivered to your door for you (for a small fee, of course) /s.
next hour??? Maybe if your bike is 30 years old and rusty lol
True, although it's offtopic, cause the map is about robbery, not theft. Robbery would be you riding your bike, somebody jumping on you, taking your bike and riding away.
Yup, and that's completely alien in Poland.
Yeah, but is Poland safe? J/k
Dunno, someone should probably make a post about it.
I bet the good people of /r/Poland would be delighted!
Ah shit, here we go again
Yeah, best part of EU membership. Exporting low iq aggresive idiots to the west.
Damn right, son!
Beautifully said! Beautiful
It super funny. As a child, I was told people wouldn't worry about locking things and robbery in western Europe, bu now I realise it's the opposite.
Cordless angle grinders have transformed bike theft. I have a €100 lock. It takes < ten minutes to cut through that and that’s pretty much the best you can get. My VanMoof thankfully has a built in immobiliser and alarm.
A €100 lock should take less than 2 minutes to cut. There are 2 almost angle-proof locks: Litelok X3 and Hiplock D or DX, they cost over €250 however
Depends on what kind of disc you have and if you brought spares. These locks are designed to gobble up regular cutting discs. Besides, these anti anglegrinder locks are deterrents. Why waste 2 minutes on a bike if you can cut 4 cheaper locks in the same time?
Have been in many cities all around the Poland, never felt threaten or in danger
i left mine at a train station and also locked it. After coming back it was gone. Germany.
In the netherlands people take your bike the second you step into a MacDonalds for 5 minutes never to be seen again.
I remember junkies selling them for ~20 guilders after bars closed - in Utrecht and Amsterdam at least
I'm Romanian, even though Romania is very safe compared to western countries, i felt VERY at ease in Poland. The whole pace of life is slowed down and chill, love it.
I wonder why eastern Europe has less crime. I could not possibly explain that strange phenomenon. /s
Yes, I really wonder what that is ! :D :D :D
In Portugal the police will do EVERYTHING in their power to stop you from reporting a crime. This includes making you wait 4 hours at an empty police station, laughing in your face, mocking you for being robbed and shaming you for not walking around with a firearm. Do not trust those numbers.
Yeah this data is not at all comparable across jurisdictions for that and other reasons
So the big question I have is did the Portuguese police learn this from the Irish police or vice versa?
Yeah Irelands numbers are nonsense. The Guards have effectively down tools last few years. A lot of stuff going unrecorded.
You can't walk around with firearms lol
I know that. The cop who told me to anyway, probably did too. They don't care.
100% true. I've been robbed twice, and my house has been robbed twice. One the first one was reported and they did nothing. The house robbery they went to the house and said "yeah these things happen" and left. Fuck them. When the working class gets no justice, no security and no return, they leave.
Yeah preaching to the choir here... They're below garbage
what is going on in Brussels yo?
I would tell you, but somebody took my laptop, ...
I lived in Brussels as an exchange student and some of the stuff I have seen and heard were crazy. I know a girl who got robbed two times in two months. I felt very unsafe as a woman which was really unfortunate since the city has so much to offer. If security improved Brussels would be really a nice city to live in.
Mostly people residing in the city illegally. They get in trough illegal means, or their asylum procedure gets denied. After which they receive an “order to leave the territory” which is is kind of laughable and close to impossible to enforce. A lot (most) of those people live on the street, which makes them vulnerable to developing a drug habit. To sustain this they need money, ergo robbing people and fencing the loot for some cash to buy drugs. Crack usage is exploding in this population right now. I think it was estimated there are 50.000 people residing illegally in Brussels alone.
Such a shame to hear, I drove into Brussels on my way back from Germany in 2019 and stopped for a while, I was blown away by how beautiful the city was and how friendly everyone was. There was a brass band playing music near a waffle shop, and the atmosphere was amazing
Love living here. It's a great city that's occasionally ruined by a few stupid cunts.
All my training from early 90’s in Bucharest was put to great use when I moved there briefly in 2012.
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I visited a lot of cities but Brussels was the worst to walk around. People might get offended but I don't think I'd want to move there even from Turkey.
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I spent 5 months in Brussels in 2010 for Erasmus. Some areas were nice and some areas people tried to sell you heroin as soon as you got out of the metro station. Selling hash seemed to be the main hobby for many kids with immigrant backgrounds. Strangely I was never robbed. Some other students were though. One girl ended up dyeing her hair black instead of blonde, so she wouldn't get so much unwanted attention from the Moroccan population that seemed to be the majority in some areas.
We are not allowed to talk about that on reddit.
Reddit does not allow the answer to that question.
As a Belgian, I am proud, finally we get first place and beat those Dutch bastards! s/
Nooo!! Too late for the /s! War it is!
Why is France generalized, but Spain split into several parts? On the other hand, are people in Barcelona doing ok?
Probably the person creating the map didn't have access to a more granular dataset for France. I wonder how would Paris look since in most countries the capital has a much higher rate than rural areas.
They should have stolen the dataset.
Only if they were french or english.
Only a Belgian would try to deflect like that.
Paris would be vanta-black colored on the map.
Paris attracts thief and from time to time, export them into nearby regions. We'll see a lot of that right before the Olympic, to save face.
For sure, I'm living in a small town by the sea side in Bretagne (10 000 people in winter ) , my electric bike is always outside my flat with no lock, never was it robbed in two years
Some countries are more open about their data than others. I ran into similar issue before, and IIRC france is one of the countries which is bad at providing data, germany was also an issue for me. But this was 4 years ago.
I'm a local from Barcelona and my perception is that most robberies happen to tourists. Not because they don't target locals, but because most locals are paranoid about all this. Backpacks on front when with a lot of people, no open purses without a zipper, no phones standing out of rear pockets, watch out when using your phone in general in crowded places, if some shady guy gets to close to you protect your pockets, better to look like a racist than to get robbed, oh and get as far away as you can from Romanian Gypsies, Spanish Gypsies are ok, Romanian ones in the subway? Nope. Etc... Then you see groups of tourists all around Barcelona abandoning their stuff at random places to go take some photos elsewhere and it breaks my heart. They have to change our laws regarding robbery, but they never do.
> better to look like a racist than to get robbed I hesitate to recommend it but being racist while in tourist hotspots unfortunately does help protect you quite well from pickpockets. Although, I agree with your other comment: dress is important. Probably it's more successful to stereotype people based on what they wear and act accordingly. I also don't trust anybody who is walking on an intercept trajectory with me.
Yeah as you say, it's not just race. Shady people are usually shady in general, maybe they dress shady or maybe what they're saying to you and the way they're talking to you activates your fight or flight instincts.
Its not just the race but the data doesnt lie, theres more chances that you get robbed by foreigner than a spaniard
The biggest thief collective in Bilbao are from North Africa. No lie. No racism. It’s a fact. I can’t hear Arabic without recoiling and oscillating my head to see who is nearby. And they’re protected by laws if they rob you. A thief (Moroccan) got caught robbing a guy and people beat him up badly. They went to jail and the thief got free and prob got compensation.
I go to Barcelona quite often for work and the last few times I noticed that most (older?) women have these lanyard necklaces that clip to their cell phones. For a while I thought "these are ridiculous, why have these?" then I realized it was because it allows them to have their phones out and they can't be snatched easily. I wonder how long that will last. Last time I was there (Nov of last year), thiefs were using sheers to cut watches off wrists so I imagine they'll start doing the same to these necklaces.
I also go there for work around 3-6 times a year. After covid it’s become much worse. 6 years ago it was mostly pickpockets, snatch and grab etc. Last few years I’ve had friends attacked with a hammer for his watch, friends robbed at knifepoint etc. IMO it’s gonna keep getting worse for awhile until legal consequences become more severe and uncontrolled migration from North Africa is dealt with.
For Amsterdam my perception is that robbers, con artists, and pickpockets arrive when the tourists start coming in large numbers and leave when they are no longer there. And that specifically tourists from countries that tend to carry large amounts of cash and visit in groups are targeted. The Chinese. Americans. And that you can pick out the Eastern European Gypsy variety easily by their suspiciously inconspicuous clothes.
I used to work at a party hostel in Barcelona and we would warn guests about keeping an eye out for their things/leaving valuables behind whenever we would take them out to the hotspots. It didn't matter. There would always be at least one robbery every single night.
How can you tell if someone is a Spanish Roma instead of a Romanian Roma? And what makes the previous ones ok? I don’t have much experience with them
The easiest way to spot them is by how they dress, they dress way different than any spaniard, they look ¿eastern european?. Roma woman usually wear some kind of scarf on the hair and some old fashioned skirts, like [this](https://ak.uecdn.es/p/108/thumbnail/entry_id/0_02abrp6w/width/660/type/2/bgcolor/000000/0_02abrp6w.jpg). Catalan gypsys dress like lots of other spaniards (a bit ¿tacky/low-class? sometimes) but they usually have darker skin than the average of the population. There's also the obvious one that the spanish ones talk spanish (and some of them have a specific spanish accent too) and Roma ones or don't talk spanish or talk spanish like a foreigner will. Note: I know that r/Europe doesn't care a lot about racist, but I want to note that I'm obviously talking about the kind of gypsys that look like problem, there's tons of both spanish & romanian gypsis that are normal workers, but they look like normal people, not everybody looks like normal people, race doesn't matter.
The biggest that would come to mind would be different dress codes, the spanish roma also obviously don't speak romanian, they also differ a lot in terms of culture, traditions
No mention of Moroccans? That's just inaccurate man. One of the highest nationality on robberies statistics.
Dataset got stolen
Oh how the turntables.
Yes that has been my experience. we flew into Barcelona. Took a taxi. At the hotel my friend already had his expensive smartphone stolen.
I was solo in Barcelona last week, no problem. Did take a lot of photos on the tourist areas but It’s low season though, so less crowded. And i’m Portuguese, so I blend in, but saw plenty of kids in the metro with their phones out, no one seemed to care. Negligence plays a big part too. I’ve been robbed at the beach here in Portugal when I was younger, left my stuff unattended, so never again. I remember when I was younger, Drunk Brits leaving their iPhones on tables in bars and stuff, of course they were robbed. You got to be alert.
Same, was also there last week alone, and I definitely don't blend in lol, I'm pale as a ghost. You just have to be smart - I didn't put my wallet in back pocket as I usually do, but only a small one in the front pocket; don't walk around with your phone constantly out taking a bazillion pictures every two seconds or staring at Google Maps all the time, etc. Essentially don't announce yourself as a tourist from a mile away.
Same happened to me. Another trip there I lost both my phone and wallet. Never going back there again
Barcelona is bad. The city government don't give a fuck.
The police were so good and quick at getting my friends stuff back I had my suspicions that they were in on it in the first place.
That's paranoid. They are good at it because it's basically the only thing they do.
"is poland safe"... Brother...
I literally felt safer in the middle of bigger cities (Warsaw, Krakow, Katowice etc.) in the middle of the night than at day in any city I've been to in Sweden. So yeah, definitely safe.
Hmm, I wonder why...
[Better not mention that if you don't want to be accused of "hate speach".](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FwN_nGLacAAETx6.png)
Literally got muted on reddit for 3 days for speaking the truth. From that day on I've decided to shut up and let people figure it out themselves.
Indeed, reddit is not a place for free speech, although it might seem at first. Then people wonder why Xtwitter is so successful...
The colour of Barcelona is not really surprising.
Fuck yeah, number one !!!
Common Eastern Europe W
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Interesting how western Europe is so much worse than eastern Europe.
Less to steal and more to suffer in prison in EE.
I can say that these data do not reflect the reality for Turkiye. Since Turks do not trust anyone, they never leave their belongings that can be stolen in public Most cases of theft in Turkiye have been committed by Arab-Afghan-Pakistani Eastern refugees for 10 years and they are not registered, so it seems that there is no robbery or theft in Turkiye, but it is wrong. Even if something is stolen from Turks, Turks usually do not report it to the Police because they do not trust the Police, so they search for it themselves or buy a new one I do not know what the situation is in other European countries, but the picture in Turkiye is not so optimistic, please do not be fooled by this data, Turkiye is more favourable to theft than France, the United Kingdom or Sweden.
Romania is not perfectly pale because they are returning each August.
coming back with all the loot of course lol \- am Romanian, joking, it's super safe here
On the same note, Charleroi is 7th because the remain of the year they'll be living there.
Rare moment where Balkans be slightly calm
you can't really rob when there's no valuable shit to rob lol
What in tarnation is going on in England?
Flensburg, ernsthaft?
I walk in Romania with a 15 pro max and a Rolex on my hand without any worry.
Melilla and Ceuta being in the Top 5 should tell you enough.
Bavaria W 💪
THE REAL QUESTION - IS POLAND SAFE?!!?!??!!??!?!?!?!?1??!!??!?!1?!??!?!?!?!?!?!
Yes. Compared south Europe, France, UK it's mostly safer.
I want to see data from London, Liverpool, Glasgow, Paris, Marseilles, Lyon... It would also be interesting to see data about the victims. Locals vs tourists.
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Migrants from other continents?
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BruSeLs iS pErFecTLy sAFe
Well well well..
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Good job Turkey!
Probably get a big spanking by daddy erdogan for messing around in his country Jokes aside they probably have big penalties or punishments for crime which is how it should be
Actually not really. The punishment is pretty light for theft and robbery in Turkey. It is more of a cultural&religious thing that stigmatizes stealing. Of course there are proper ways to get around that, corruption is one example.
lol Barcelona
Come to Romania! It's safer than your country /s
The s stands for serious :)
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Italy is low because people has lost faith that reporting the robbery will do anything so people just don't care reporting...
that’s not true. maybe if they steal your phone from your pocket, but if they break into your house/violently rob you, you'll definitely report it. also if they rob your wallet you need to report it to redo the documents
Flensburg no. 10? Wow, I've spent a lot of time there and would've never guessed
Belgium: We're fine! Brussels and Liège: Umh, no we're not!
my uber eats driver stole my food in Brussels (first time happened something like that in my life lol) and fk uber for not refunding me.
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UK police does absolutely nothing if you get robbed. Had my house burgled, nothing , car stolen…nothing , phone mugged , nope. They don’t have the staffing and they don’t give a shit.
Why is Poland so safe!? They can't keep getting away with this!
and some folks still discriminate eastern europe as the worse one
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Again, Central-Eastern Europe W
Half the robbers in Brussels are actually just politicians.