# MY man in Elviria!



## Suenneil (Feb 17, 2009)

Well, just had a phone call from my OH who was with clients( a married couple) in Elviria this lunchtime ... enjoying a coffee and a chat outside a busy well know pavement Cafe. 

He told me that out of nowhere this youngish guy appears and snatched the handbag of Mrs Client and ran off - (loads of people in and around this cafe at the time and two men including my OH sat with her at the table) ...... youngish guy legs it and off my man goes in hot pursuit .... sadly he tells me the younger guy had at least 25 years on him so out ran him in the end ... BUT my OH managed to keep up enough to get the licence plate of the car into which the guy jumped into with a driver waiting for him ..... my OH called the police and they traced the car to a hire company .. so maybe there is a chance of getting these scumbags !! who knows!

Needless to say he has now volunteered to take them to the Consulate in Malaga tomorrow morning to sort of the paperwork ....

The SAD fact is I couldnt believe my reaction ... I consider myself to be an upstanding citizen who believes in doing the right thing - yet chastised the hubby for giving chase as he could have been hurt or worse ! he said he acted instinctively and just did it - no regrets .... I on the other hand am just relieved he never caught up with the bag snatcher for fear of an alternative outcome!

Just goes to show that what we think we may do in a situation may not be the action we eventually take (as in my reaction!) ... however, I hope that I continue to believe in doing the right thing and not let a minority overrun the majority.

Im proud of him really ! :clap2::clap2::clap2:


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Suenneil said:


> Well, just had a phone call from my OH who was with clients( a married couple) in Elviria this lunchtime ... enjoying a coffee and a chat outside a busy well know pavement Cafe.
> 
> He told me that out of nowhere this youngish guy appears and snatched the handbag of Mrs Client and ran off - (loads of people in and around this cafe at the time and two men including my OH sat with her at the table) ...... youngish guy legs it and off my man goes in hot pursuit .... sadly he tells me the younger guy had at least 25 years on him so out ran him in the end ... BUT my OH managed to keep up enough to get the licence plate of the car into which the guy jumped into with a driver waiting for him ..... my OH called the police and they traced the car to a hire company .. so maybe there is a chance of getting these scumbags !! who knows!
> 
> ...


bless him!!! Its scary to think that this sort of thing goes on atall isnt it! I'm so niave I like to think of the workd as a nice happy, honest place!

Jo xx

Jo xxx


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## XTreme (May 17, 2008)

Top Man!


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## Tallulah (Feb 16, 2009)

Wow Sue - in today's world, god knows what would have happened elsewhere....he's a truly brave guy and brings hope to us all that there are still people out there with a huge sense of decency. Well done hubby!!!:clap2::clap2:

Tallulah.x


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## Chica (Mar 23, 2009)

Let's hope the guardia/police catch the bast...ds. That is similar to how I had my bag stolen. Sat at a cafe, bag on the chair next to me that was tucked under the table. Whilst I turned my back to speak to someone, away it went. 5 minutes before I realised it had gone

A horrible thing to happen. Especially knowing that most of my bits and pieces ended up in a bin.

Well done him. very brave.:boxing:


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## SunnySpain (Jul 30, 2008)

Chica said:


> Let's hope the guardia/police catch the bast...ds. That is similar to how I had my bag stolen. Sat at a cafe, bag on the chair next to me that was tucked under the table. Whilst I turned my back to speak to someone, away it went. 5 minutes before I realised it had gone
> 
> A horrible thing to happen. Especially knowing that most of my bits and pieces ended up in a bin.
> 
> Well done him. very brave.:boxing:



Interesting story and whats more is that my Aunt and her friends were staying in an apartment in Elviria last week and they were burgled one morning.

The tossurs actually prised the wrought iron bars off the bathroom window including taking down some of the bricks before taking jewellery, cameras, passports, cash amongst other things.

My Aunt actually took the number plate as they saw these sqaudee looking guys with tatoos driving around casing the place a few hours earlier, however the police were not in the slightest bit interested apparently.

Seems like there is a fair bit of petty crime about in that area. In fact my Aunt had her handbag snatched a year earlier in Fuengirola on market day, so she has not had much luck on the Costa del Crime :lol:


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

PROUD OF HIM, Sue 

Give him a big hug from me (if you know what I mean) This world needs more people who are prepared to stand up for what is right. OF COURSE, he should not have chased but it is a natural reaction for decent people. 

Let's hope that they are caught and beaten senseless - any remarks by the PC brigade to that comment will be ignored. I have had enough of crime in expatshire.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

SteveHall said:


> PROUD OF HIM, Sue
> 
> Give him a big hug from me (if you know what I mean)


No Steve, what do you mean????????????????????? :lol:

Jo xxx


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

jojo said:


> No Steve, what do you mean????????????????????? :lol:
> 
> Jo xxx


¡Un abrazo muy fuerte!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

SteveHall said:


> ¡Un abrazo muy fuerte!



Like a "man hug" back patting and stuff??? hhhhmmmmm!!!!?????!!!!

Jo xxx


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

Man hug is like man flu ....women will never understand them!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

SteveHall said:


> Man hug is like man flu ....women will never understand them!



Men get flu
children get colds
women get on with it!


Jo xxx:focus:


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## XTreme (May 17, 2008)

I don't do man hugs!


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## Suenneil (Feb 17, 2009)

Ithink if I mention "man hugs" to my OH he will start talking in a deeper voice just to show me how "manly" he is !!! lol

Thanks for your comments, I will certainly pass them on to him. He is actually at the Consulate in Malaga this morning helping them sort out their passports which were in the bag ...... I travelled here in the car with them and they are such a lovely couple, in their 60´s and totally flabbergasted with what happened ... have travelled overseas for years and years but apparently this is the first "incident" they have had thats been negative.

Its such a shame we are hearing more and more of this - but then I suppose it only really comes into focus when it happens to you directly or someone you know.

Have good morning all!


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

Well, as the ex-police liasion officer and then press relations officer for the Costa Blanca Neighbourhood Watch I am afraid crime was a daily occurence and after a while I just had enough of the constant grind of robbery, pick-pockets, hand-bag snatches. Violence on person or person unknown is fortunately very very unusual here but petty crime is/was a constant hassle. 16 denunicas in just one police station in just one year was enough to make me very vigilant. 

In the past 8 years - I have been broken into gassed and has my house vacuumed whilst I slept, been pick-pocketed 3 times and had my lap-top stolen from between my legs at Alicante Bus Station. Be on your guard, guys!


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## Suenneil (Feb 17, 2009)

My god Steve! sounds like you have had more than your fair share of being a victim!!! - thats pretty scarey stuff.

Strange thing is I am actually a Probation Officer by "trade" and worked in the Criminal Justice system in the UK seeing the perpetrators of crime on a daily basis - but my role was not to judge - but to enforce the punishment and reduce the risks etc ...... being away from that for 5 years, and living thankfully in relative peace and tranquility since then has maybe blunted my senses to it all!

I am obviously thankful that I havent had any personal bad experiences - but I do need to remind myself of the need for vigilance and just keeping a general awareness of the potential for petty crime etc........ the sun, sea, sand, pace of life etc can lull you into a false sense of security !


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## XTreme (May 17, 2008)

Well I've said it before.....and I'll say it again!

If you guys moved from your desirable gaffs on the coast to Gypsy communities in the middle of nowhere you wouldn't get any of that.

Algerians, Moroccans, Eastern Europeans, Latinos etc won't even venture into this sort of territory.

A mugging within the community would result in dozens of these guys (all carrying knives) all getting involved within a few seconds.










It's actually quite amazing the communication network the Gitanos have. 
Even though they have no internet or home phones, and only a few youngsters have mobiles, they can get information across _provinces_ virtually immediately. I haven't got a clue how they do it.

And anyway, even if the muggers did escape them, the Guardia here do have a reputation of being rather trigger happy.


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

It could be worse, I could have been left traumatised and been an Arsenal fan. 

Probation Officer? Not sure whether I would have been suited for that role. I would have suggested gargling with deadly poison, chopping most bits of their anatomy off and for those who thought they had lost their looks I have found sulphuric acid is a great way of removing wrinkles ...and most of the rest of their skin. 

When I comes to dealing with these scumbags, I think I am slightly less liberal than Attila the Hun and before anybody asks "Yes I believe in capital punishment. Should Spain bring it back? Yes. Should the UK bring it back? Yes".


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

XTreme said:


> And anyway, even if the muggers did escape them, the Guardia here do have a reputation of being rather trigger happy.


There was a "situation" in Torrevieja in 2003/2004 where a lot of the scumbags "fell down the stairs" at Torrevieja Police Station. Strange really as it's all on one floor!


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## Chica (Mar 23, 2009)

I used to get them in bail or when they came out of prison on parole, as well as on probation. Working in half way houses was, in the early days, rewarding, but I am sure Suenneil will agree that the law became too much on the side of the offender. We used to have the power to say "behave or get out"! Those days are long gone! We found our hands tied behind our back and the ex-cons knowing and playing on that. I used to do spasmodic room checks so they knew if they were hiding stolen gear on the premises, they would be found out. Then, we had to make prior arrangements to enter their rooms. We know longer had the element of surprise.


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## Suenneil (Feb 17, 2009)

Chica said:


> I used to get them in bail or when they came out of prison on parole, as well as on probation. Working in half way houses was, in the early days, rewarding, but I am sure Suenneil will agree that the law became too much on the side of the offender. We used to have the power to say "behave or get out"! Those days are long gone! We found our hands tied behind our back and the ex-cons knowing and playing on that. I used to do spasmodic room checks so they knew if they were hiding stolen gear on the premises, they would be found out. Then, we had to make prior arrangements to enter their rooms. We know longer had the element of surprise.


Hi Chica ... interesting, were you working in the Hostels then ? When I started as a PO I absolutely loved it! had big ideas on how changing one persons train of thought and getting them to a better place was so rewarding - and it genuinely was. But it changed so much over the years and even more so now - I still have friends who work in the service and they find it extremely difficult to manage the sheer volume of work ... and the nature of the people they are dealing with these days. I worked in High Risk and supervised sex offenders amongst others - but at that time the risk assessments etc prior to release were more genuine, and based on real assessment - these days they just seem to let them out whenever they need the spaces in the cells!


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## Chica (Mar 23, 2009)

Suenneil said:


> Hi Chica ... interesting, were you working in the Hostels then ? When I started as a PO I absolutely loved it! had big ideas on how changing one persons train of thought and getting them to a better place was so rewarding - and it genuinely was. But it changed so much over the years and even more so now - I still have friends who work in the service and they find it extremely difficult to manage the sheer volume of work ... and the nature of the people they are dealing with these days. I worked in High Risk and supervised sex offenders amongst others - but at that time the risk assessments etc prior to release were more genuine, and based on real assessment - these days they just seem to let them out whenever they need the spaces in the cells!


Hi Sue,

Yes, I worked in the voluntary sector. Some were 24 hour cover hostels..... alone at nightw with 15/16 of the tikes. Some on life licence!! Funnily enough, I felt that being a female often protected me. I can only count on 1 hand the times I felt really threatened. That's not bad really but that may have come from my pschiatric nursing background.

I, too, loved it in the first few years. Only about 5% drug related crime, rising to 95% at the end of my 12 years. This is when it started becoming precarious, especially with those on crack coccaine. The job changed absolutely.

At one time I had a chap that was on bail who was up for TWOCing and TDAing 13 times. He stole another car and parked it outside the hostal. He was bailed yet again The law has become so soft!!!

Glad I'm out of it now


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## Suenneil (Feb 17, 2009)

Sometimes Im glad not to be in it anymore ... and other times I still miss it 

Im not going to say "unforutunately" or apologise in advance .... BUt I am one of those people who genuinely believes there is opportunity for people to change given the right circumstances / opportunities / guidance etc ... NOT ALL of them, but the majority .... and if someone doesnt believe that then theres no hope for us!!! 

I worked in High Risk and supervised sex offenders on licence amongst other offenders, also did Prison Work, but the risk assessment situation changed dramatically over the years and was more target driven in the end rather than actual assessment!!!! which is VERY WRONG ....I need to get of this topic quickly otherwise I will get into it all over again and end up on my soapbox! ...... :blabla::blabla::blabla::blabla::blabla:


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## scharlack (Nov 21, 2008)

Top bloke! Very few people would have tried to chase those *******s... 

Too bad the police is generally not very insterested on catching these guys ... 

I have have been lucky but my family has had a few bad experiences regarding theft/robbery. :frusty:


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## Chica (Mar 23, 2009)

I would say that our success rate was about 30%. If they managed to stay with us for 12 months then they would be rewarded with their own flat. Obviously, they ended up with us because they were homeless. However, much depended on the area of the hostel. Some areas were very poor at offering this carrot to our "clients" and officially there licence with us was for 12 months. 

As you say Sue, most of the residents were ok but others just have no remorse. Sociopaths.


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## mayotom (Nov 8, 2008)

Had a spate of these bag snatching incidents all along the coast a couple of years ago, some of my friends got done, but it appears that they have upgraded to cars, it was mopeds then, not pleasant but what can we do......

we eventually followed one guy on a moped one night and called le Guardia and then chased the culprits right into a roadblock in Marbella's old town... was fantastic.


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