# Would this all be correct



## Mervyndayslovechild (Dec 7, 2019)

Hi I am just researching moving to Spain straight after Xmas and before dreaded Brexit.

looking at he news sites it seems more crime on the costa del sol rather than the Costa Blanca would I be correct in presuming so?

Cheers in advance 

Tom


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## emlyn (Oct 26, 2012)

I guess there are places to avoid in both.
Wherever you live there will be opportunities for theft etc.
What may be important is to be aware and treat your security as you would in the UK.


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## Juan C (Sep 4, 2017)

I have lived here on CDS for 34 years. 

For over 20 years I have been a volunteer translator assisting, amongst others, victims of crime make reports. 

I was a detective in U.K. 

Without doubt, in my personal experience , not only is the crime rate here considerably lower here than in U.K., with the exception of those involved in serious crime, there are practically no crimes of violence against foreigners.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

The CDS has organised crime and drug gangs, which make the news. But ordinary people aren't affected.

As Juan says there is virtually no violence against foreigners. Empty houses might get robbed, if it looks like there's something inside worth stealing, but that's the same everywhere. It's why we have bars on our windows.

So I'd choose other more significant factors when deciding where to locate, such as climate, house prices, cost of living, number of English-speaking facilities (if you need them), etc.


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## Juan C (Sep 4, 2017)

I would like to add: 

I spend 4 hours shifts, one day a week, at a national police station in a ‘Popular tourist town’ on CDS. It is not uncommon, for not one non Spanish person to come in, to report a crime during my shift. Most Spaniards attend for non crime purposes too. 

I appreciate not all crimes are reported but that applies probably in every country, including U.K. However, as most holidaymakers have travel insurance, I suspect it is more likely than not that crimes are reported, as a police report is required to make an insurance claim.


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## andyviola (Aug 11, 2018)

Violent crime is for sure less but beware pick pocketing and i notice kids crash through fences to avoid paying for train tickets and traffic police turn blind eye so im not so confident about the police etc.


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## Hepa (Apr 2, 2018)

I remember when I first decided to buy many years ago, I asked the local bank manager what was the crime situation, he said, "We had a major incident in the springtime, someone vandalised a telephone box," and thens laughed his head off.

Few have window bars, many leave house unlocked, vehicles are frequently left with doors unlocked and engines running. People leave their wallets, money phones on the bar whilst they use the toilets or go outside for a ***.

We do not have Policia National nor Traffic police stationed permanently on the island.

In the rare event that criminals are apprehended, we deport them to Tenerife.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Hepa said:


> I remember when I first decided to buy many years ago, I asked the local bank manager what was the crime situation, he said, "We had a major incident in the springtime, someone vandalised a telephone box," and thens laughed his head off.
> 
> Few have window bars, many leave house unlocked, vehicles are frequently left with doors unlocked and engines running. People leave their wallets, money phones on the bar whilst they use the toilets or go outside for a ***.
> 
> ...


Sounds great crime wise, but for me a small island's for a holiday, not for living on!
BTW I thought Hierro was famous for being eco minded? Leaving your engine running is definitely not very "green"...


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## Hepa (Apr 2, 2018)

Pesky Wesky said:


> Sounds great crime wise, but for me a small island's for a holiday, not for living on!
> BTW I thought Hierro was famous for being eco minded? Leaving your engine running is definitely not very "green"...


Tourists are few, Greenies are fewer. Eco is propaganda used by the Politicos.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Hepa said:


> Tourists are few, Greenies are fewer. Eco is propaganda used by the Politicos.


But your Politicos have at least put words into action. Unlike most places.

The island of El Hierro, 100% powered by renewable energy for 24 consecutive days


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## Hepa (Apr 2, 2018)

Alcalaina said:


> But your Politicos have at least put words into action. Unlike most places.
> 
> The island of El Hierro, 100% powered by renewable energy for 24 consecutive days


All that money and labour for a population of 11,000, maybe 4,500 habitants actually resident.


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## andyviola (Aug 11, 2018)

Even UK isnt that green! For every electric car bought 37 SUVs are bought! But at least we can feel great about ourselves by putting our tin cans and cardboard into another box...
Oh i just bought an SUV lol.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Alcalaina said:


> The CDS has organised crime and drug gangs, which make the news. But ordinary people aren't affected.
> 
> As Juan says there is virtually no violence against foreigners. Empty houses might get robbed, if it looks like there's something inside worth stealing, but that's the same everywhere. It's why we have bars on our windows.
> 
> So I'd choose other more significant factors when deciding where to locate, such as climate, house prices, cost of living, number of English-speaking facilities (if you need them), etc.


Crimes occur anywhere and can affect anyone, foreigner or national. Some crimes are random, others targeted. Organised crime gangs are indeed responsible for many killings on the CDS and yes, ordinary members of the public aren’t often affected, unless they get caught in a hail of bullets as happened in a shooting in a cafe/ bar in Estepona last year when nineteen shots were fired at a crowded terrace. No member of the public was injured but the intended target was chased along a crowded street, caught, bundled into a car and left dead outside a hospital in Algeciras.
These types of drug related killings are becoming more frequent and gang activity is moving down the coast to previously fairly tranquil areas.
Foreigners aren’t specifically targeted because they are foreign but because they often live in upmarket areas, especially if they are Russian or Chinese and it is thought they must be wealthy and worth robbing.
Our house was broken into under this mistaken assumption and we suffered the shame of having nothing stolen as we possessed nothing of any value. 
Crime becomes an issue when it happens to you and you can be robbed in a village as easily as in a city.
And as you say, it’s not a major factor to consider when thinking of moving.
Imagine how you’d feel if you located to a village where no crime had occurred for twenty years or more and the day after you moved in you were robbed....


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

mrypg9 said:


> Imagine how you’d feel if you located to a village where no crime had occurred for twenty years or more and the day after you moved in you were robbed....


Ha ha yes, there was a burglary here shortly after we arrived (an English couple who'd gone home for Christmas and told everyone they would be away). 

But you can't generalise from individual incidents, you hae to look at the statistics to get the big picture. You are far more likely to die from an accident in your own home than from a gangster's stray bullet.


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## Juan C (Sep 4, 2017)

It is extremely unusual for a property to be targeted for burglary unless it is known there are some very valuable items within, and in almost every such case the thief would have an arranged market for the items before he carried out the burglary. 

Almost all burglaries to average homes are opportunist. Over a period of 30 years I have investigated hundreds of burglaries, residential and commercial, in UK. 

Bars on windows. Rejas. 

Having repaired several rejas in Spain after burglaries I know they are practically useless. Firstly they are made of too slender mild steel, around 1 cm square, with insufficient supporting cross braces and then set into walls which are commonly terracotta ´bricks´ so more ventilation spaces than material ! Thus they have almost no structural strength, allowing the rejas to be easily jacked or prised out of the wall.

I had a friend (an engineer with JCB) who made his own rejas. They were twice the thickness of the average, 2 cms, and were held in the wall with thick bolts which passed through the walls and through thick reinforcement plates on the inside and then held in place with large nuts. To remove one would have required the demolition of the walls. They looked pretty ugly on the outside and inside of the house but probably effective.


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## andyviola (Aug 11, 2018)

Your most valuable article is a liittle item known as a car key. Keep close to you at night and never leave spares around when you out and the car isn't (rare scenario i know).
In London a neighbor had car nicked when they used a long grabber through a letter box....


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## dmret (Mar 12, 2013)

From experience, should you rent a car, remove the hire company's decal from the rear window.
It advertises the fact that you may well be a tourist.


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## andyviola (Aug 11, 2018)

dmret said:


> From experience, should you rent a car, remove the hire company's decal from the rear window.
> It advertises the fact that you may well be a tourist.


Agree.

I must say the way modern cars auto lock the doors when you set off is most welcome!


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## Juan C (Sep 4, 2017)

andyviola said:


> Agree.
> 
> I must say the way modern cars auto lock the doors when you set off is most welcome!


Sorry if I change your view on feeling safe.

Breaking a car window is probably faster than opening an unlocked car door.

At least 45 years ago in Lewisham and other areas of London, it was common for young black men to smash the passenger window of cars stopped at traffic lights and snatch handbags or other items left on the passenger seat. I guess they did not even bother to check if the was locked or unlocked

A locked car door, house door , etc. is a deterrent only


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## andyviola (Aug 11, 2018)

And hot wiring still works to start it? Eek! Thanks for warning


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