# Pickpocketed in Fuengirola



## capriol (Jan 28, 2016)

Hello,

I went out in Fuengirola on Friday night and was pickpocketed on the street. They took my phone and wallet.

I have travel insurance which should cover me.

Does anyone have any advice on reporting this to the police? Is it a simple enough task? I don't speak much Spanish unfortunately.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Hi Capriol. Sorry to hear that you were pick-pocketed. 

Here's the contact information (phone number and address) of the local police in Fuengirola:

Policia Local Fuengirola - Contacto

There are a lot of English-speaking people in Fuengirola, and some Spanish police stations have English interpreters, so you might be in luck and have one there.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Sorry AllHeart, but a crime of this nature would not be dealt with by the Policia Local, theft is dealt with by the Policia Nacional, a separate body.

You can in fact report certain crimes (called making a denuncia in Spain) to the Policia Nacional by telephone, in a number of languages of which English is one - and a theft of this kind is one of them. You need to call 902 102112 and ask for the English option. Thy will take details over the phone, but you then need to go in persoon to your nearest Comisaria de Policia Nacional between 24-48 hours later in order to read and check the denuncia (it will be in Spanish so you need to take someone with you to translate) and sign it. They will give you a copy of the denuncia with the reference number for your insurance company.

You could, of course, go directly to the Comisaria de Policia Nacional with a translator and make the denuncia there.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Lynn, I didn't say that was where to report it, just that that was the # of the local police station, which could have given info like you gave. They couldn't have done a better job than you did! 

Here's the contact info for the national police in Fuengirola:

Dirección: Avda. Condes de San Isidro Nº 98 - 29640, Fuengirola (Málaga)

Teléfono: 952198369 / 952197114

Fax: 952198351

From here: http://www.policia.es/documentacion/oficinas/andalucia.html

I hope that's right! :fingerscrossed:


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

I thought it was the Guardia that this should be reported to ?


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

I went with someone who had been robbed to Fuengirola some years ago. It was the large one on the Main Road. Friend was just given a form which was in Spanish and English things like 'I have had bag/wallet/purse stolen' also you had to list stolen items There wasn't much interest from the Police but if needing to claim the Insurance needs a copy of report.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

VFR said:


> I thought it was the Guardia that this should be reported to ?


Possibly it is different in Valencia, I wouldn't know, but in Andalucia it is the Policia Nacional who deal with robberies, whether that is in the street or from your house. The GC do deal with some kinds of theft such as agricultural produce from farms, however.

This is a summary of the roles of the 3 separate police forces in Spain - the GC apparently deal with crime in rural areas and towns with under 20,000 inhabitants and the Policia Nacional deal with crime in urban areas. I would say Fuengirola would definitely be classed as an urban area!

http://latorreinfo.com/index.php/component/attachments/download/80


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

VFR said:


> I thought it was the Guardia that this should be reported to ?


In a rural area yes, here we don't have Policia Nacional, the Guardia Civil are the main police force, but with hardly any crime to investigate, they must have a boring career.


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## capriol (Jan 28, 2016)

*Thanks*

Thanks guys,

Lynn- followed your instructions and registered the crime by telephone. Just got to go to the station and sign!

Thanks


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Lynn R said:


> This is a summary of the roles of the 3 separate police forces in Spain - the GC apparently deal with crime in rural areas and towns with under 20,000 inhabitants and the Policia Nacional deal with crime in urban areas. I would say Fuengirola would definitely be classed as an urban area!
> 
> http://latorreinfo.com/index.php/component/attachments/download/80


Thanks for that link! It's so well explained. I didn't know that. I'm just a little bit more knowledgeable today!


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

capriol said:


> Thanks guys,
> 
> Lynn- followed your instructions and registered the crime by telephone. Just got to go to the station and sign!
> 
> Thanks


Great you got it all sorted out! Just for future reference so that I know, is that the correct address for the National Police that I gave above?


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## capriol (Jan 28, 2016)

*Yup correct*



AllHeart said:


> Great you got it all sorted out! Just for future reference so that I know, is that the correct address for the National Police that I gave above?


Yup that was the right address, many thanks!


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

You're welcome, and thanks for letting me know! 

How did things go today?


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## capriol (Jan 28, 2016)

I ended up getting the denuncia at the police station at the airport. Was very quick and easy. 

A shame it is all just paperwork though. Would be nice if they asked some questions and maybe gave some feedback, but I guess that is due to the language barrier! I must keep up the lessons, it's only my third visit!


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

capriol said:


> I ended up getting the denuncia at the police station at the airport. Was very quick and easy.
> 
> A shame it is all just paperwork though. Would be nice if they asked some questions and maybe gave some feedback, but I guess that is due to the language barrier! I must keep up the lessons, it's only my third visit!


I hope you have no problems with your insurance company. Yes, I would imagine that this served as smelling salts as to the importance of knowing Spanish in Spain. I'm studying hard too!


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## Caz.I (Mar 21, 2009)

capriol said:


> I ended up getting the denuncia at the police station at the airport. Was very quick and easy.
> 
> A shame it is all just paperwork though. Would be nice if they asked some questions and maybe gave some feedback, but I guess that is due to the language barrier! I must keep up the lessons, it's only my third visit!


There are also National Police offices in several towns across Spain which specialize in helping foreign tourists. They are called SATE (Servicio al Atencion Turista Extranjera) and have English speaking staff who can assist tourists in reporting a crime, as well as providing general assistance. There are offices in Malaga, Marbella and Benalmadena, Granada, Palma and Benidorm and quite a few other tourist locations in Spain.

I hope you don't need to use them but for anyone who does have to report a crime and needs help in English, you can find a list of their offices here:
http://www.policia.es/denunweb/serv_at_ext_in.html


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