A surge in muggings and burglaries in Barcelona, mainly targeting tourists, has sparked alarm in Spain’s second-largest city, leading residents to form their own crime-fighting patrols.
The US consulate in Barcelona on Wednesday warned of “an increase in violent crime in the city” and urged them not to “display signs of wealth, such as wearing expensive jewelry or watches.”
The alert came just days after Afghanistan’s ambassador to Spain was lightly injured in a group mugging to steal his watch in the city center, and a 91-year-old French woman was hospitalized after thieves yanked her necklace, causing her to fall.
Photo: AFP
The tourist hot spot has recorded eight murders since last month, an unusually high number for the city, and in June a visiting South Korean public servant died from injuries she sustained during a mugging.
The city’s hotel association has warned that Barcelona’s reputation could be “seriously harmed.”
Barcelona Deputy Mayor Albert Batlle acknowledged there was a “security crisis,” but called for a “calm and responsible analysis” of the problem.
Thefts and violent robberies in the city of 1.6 million residents jumped by 28 percent from 2016 to last year, police figures showed.
The trend has continued this year, with a 31 percent rise in violent robberies in the first half of the year.
However, the total number of violent crimes — homicides and bodily injuries — fell during the period and the murder rate is lower than in other European cities, such as London, Berlin and Brussels.
“Barcelona continues to be a very safe city,” said Sonia Andolz, an expert on security policies, adding that the rise in crime “was not enough to justify the alarm that is being generated.”
The boom in tourism the city experienced since it hosted the 1992 Summer Olympics is partly to blame, Andolz said.
“Tourism always draws pickpockets,” she said.
The number of tourists who stayed at a hotel in Barcelona soared from 1.7 million in 1990 to 8.8 million in 2017, municipal figures showed.
Nearly 60 percent of all burglaries and robberies are concentrated in the two most-visited neighborhoods: the Ciutat Vella and the Eixample.
Gustavo Equia, who owns an Argentine empanada shop in Ciutat Vella that was held up three times in a single night, said that the neighborhood has been “left in the hands of God.”
Many blame Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau, accusing her of being too lenient since she came to power in 2015.
City Hall has boosted its crime-fighting budget and the regional government has deployed more officers to the city, including anti-riot units, but according to police, only one in 10 people arrested for violent robberies last year and this year went to prison.
In response, some locals have organized “citizen patrols” to fight crime.
Carrying signs in different languages, they tour the city and metro stations, warning of pickpockets.
When they spot a suspected thief they blow whistles and shout “leave pickpocket” until the person goes away.
“You see so much insecurity, so much anxiety, that you say: ‘Either we do something to save Barcelona or it will turn into a South American city,’” said Eliana Guerrero, a member of one of the patrols who is originally from Colombia.
“This didn’t happen before. There were robberies, but not the violence we have today,” Guerrero added.
City officials and experts are concerned.
“Taking justice into your own hands is not the solution. A citizen without training, without a uniform and without any controls can never play this role,” Andolz said.
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