After Patrick Collinson’s tale of mugging , we look at how robbers get away with it, and readers share their experiences

Much as Barcelona would love to shed its reputation as the bag-snatching capital of Europe, it is not in the gift of the city authorities to do much about it. Under Spanish law, if you steal something worth less than €400 (£357) it’s a falta (misdemeanour), not a delito (crime). If you are caught, you will be fined, probably around €50, but however many times you re-offend, it remains a misdemeanour and as an offence it is not cumulative.

As a result, the thieves, who mostly operate in groups, do so with a sense of impunity, seeing the fines as little more than a tax. Understandably, the police find it demoralising, knowing that when they arrest a culprit he/she will be back on the street within hours.

There have been moves to change the law but the legal system is so bogged down with serious cases it has yet to proceed, and there is little appetite for further burdening the system by making bag-snatching and pickpocketing crimes. All the city authorities can do is warn people of the risks.

I was mugged on holiday. Don’t make the mistakes I made | Patrick Collinson Read more

They have also made it easier to make a claim – necessary for insurance purposes. Before you could only do this by spending hours at a police station but it is now possible to do it online. The website is available in a variety of languages.

For most Barcelona residents, it’s a source of shame. Friends come to visit, you tell them the dos and don’ts, and still they get robbed – the young, the elderly, in the street, on the metro, queuing to visit some sight. It’s a plague.

Most of us warn people when we see them putting themselves at risk. And yet, despite all the warnings, in guide books and websites, over the public address system at the beach and on the metro, in several languages, we see so many people with their wallets in their back pockets, handbags draped over the back of the chair in a bar, or a camera or mobile on the table, and you think, well, what did you expect?

We sought a response from Tourisme de Barcelona and from the Ajuntament de Barcelona but as Guardian Money went to press had not received a reply.

How to beat the robbers

Lots of people responded to last week’s story with advice for holidaymakers, especially those going to Barcelona.

Margot, who has a house just north of Barcelona, said: “No handbags. Never leave a rucksack or bag in the floor in a cafe or restaurant – you can buy hooks for attaching them to tables. Use money belts for keys, cards and cash. Never stop if anyone asks for directions, or if anyone offers to remove bird excrement from you. Never have a wallet in front or back pockets.”

Many people recommended money belts. Many also suggested you keep a secondary wallet with valueless goods to hand to muggers, including Ducksis: “Carry your cash and credit cards in a money belt, but have a cheap plastic wallet filled with Monopoly money and old membership cards in your back pocket. Shout but don’t fight back.”

Many recommend taking photocopies or phone pictures of your essential documents. “I keep a photo of my passport and driving licence on my phone, and as email attachments. I know that itself carries some risks, but for me, the pros outweigh the cons,” said one holidaymaker to Turkey.

Others say place everything in your wheelie bag until you get to your hotel. “Just put your easily pickpocketable goods in your suitcase and then lock it until you get your hotel, from where you can organise the cash you carry by day, so your wallet isn’t bulging out of your front pocket,” said BoyoUK.

Readers share their stories

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Graffiti warning of pickpockets in Barcelona. Photograph: Alamy

Alison W from Kent said: “Exactly the same thing happened to us about four weeks ago. Yep, just off the plane, same station, same technique. I was suddenly surrounded by big burly men who pushed past me rudely and then shut the doors as I was trying to get on the train. I fell over these men and when I’d righted myself I saw they’d all jumped off. I knew immediately they had stolen something and, lo and behold, my purse had gone.

“The purse had about €150 in it but the evening before we left home I had carefully removed absolutely everything else of value and either left it at home or stored it in a belt inside my clothes.”

“I was very lucky on the metro in Barcelona,” said gixxerman006. “As I boarded a crowded train with my three friends a group of three men pushed and shoved to get on too. Thankfully the thief dropped the contents of my wallet, lifted from a zipped bum-bag under my clothing. He even had the audacity to hand a passport back as if helping me!

“I think what saved the situation was that I had two bum-bags clipped on, one more or less over the other, which made things difficult for the thief. They got off at the next stop, pretty much before we’d worked out what had happened. It was all so fast, the pushing and shoving to get on helped to create the confusion.

“Mind you, I thoroughly enjoyed Barcelona, lovely city.”

Meanwhile, Follow_The_Bear wrote: “The train to and from Barcelona airport must be the worst route on earth for these criminals. I’ve witnessed a number of muggings, a friend who I was travelling with had a similar experience to the writer.”

Thewookieisdown was among regular visitors who said that theft was rampant. “I think I have been to Barcelona six times, dating back to 1990, and every single time I have seen people attempting this sort of thing on public transport: the distracting kerfuffle. It obviously isn’t the only city where this happens but perhaps it’s the one where it’s most prevalent?”

Moribola was robbed using the old “bird droppings on shoulder” trick while in Barcelona’s Park Güell. “Hot, sunny, the park empty apart from a family approaching with a pushchair.” As they drew near him the birdsong was idyllic. Then one of the family leapt forward to clean the “bird droppings” from his shoulder. He said it was all right, but they continued. After they left, he discovered there wasn’t a bird in sight: they had a cassette of birdsong playing in the pushchair and a can of spray foam. The episode cost him more than €400.

In one terrible story, SH wrote of the dreadful consequences of fighting back. “My niece’s boyfriend was sat on a bench with friends in Las Ramblas on his first night in Barcelona a few years ago. He felt his wallet being taken from his back pocket and chased the thief who turned and stabbed him. The victim ended up on a life support machine and his distraught parents had to make the decision to turn off the machine attached to their only child. The 14-year-old culprit was caught but many lives were devastated.”

Many readers highlighted how muggings and robberies are common in popular tourist destinations and the “distraction” techniques used are standard worldwide. PamelaButler warned about a new threat – from selfie sticks near cash machines. “We were on our way home after a week in Copenhagen. At the railway station as I bought our train tickets from the automatic machine there was yet another young person with a selfie stick. We rushed on to the crowded train.



“Thank God we decided to get a coffee as soon as we arrived at the airport – as I immediately discovered my purse had been stolen. The youth with the selfie stick had been recording me as I keyed in my pin.”

Meanwhile, LiverPlate wrote about his robbery on the number 38 tram in Lisbon, victim of the same pushing and shoving group routine. “I was also guilty of the same stupid and one-off forgetfulness about splitting the money. The tourist police station was crowded; it all seemed depressingly routine.”