Now, the following are not my words but abstracts from the local ex-pat press during May, 2008.
Read them and draw your own conclusions:
"Arson attack - A worrying incident which took place on 12 May reminded us of the dangers and insecurity of Orihuela Costa.
A car was set on fire only a few metres from the Playa Flamenca office of the Town Hall.
In the same area another similar incident occurred only a few months earlier.
A press release from local political party, C.L.A.R.O., proclaimed, “We hope the police will investigate this incident urgently and tell the public what lies behind these acts. One such incident might suggest vandalism, two would indicate criminality of a much more serious nature”.
There is a growing concern among citizens and business people that crime is rising. All the indicators, ranging from examples of house-breaking, bag snatching and delinquency point in this direction. And in the background, prostitution and car robbery are reminders that organised crime is present in Orihuela Costa.
Residents do not doubt that the police are doing their best but this is within the limits of their capacity.
C.L.A.R.O. commented, “Overall security policy is primarily the responsibility of the Orihuela municipal government. They decide the number of police in Orihuela Costa and they are responsible for a concerted strategy to reduce crime. They do not seem to be doing a good job”.
Experts in security consider that the optimum ratio between the number of police and the size of the population is two police officers for every 1,000 inhabitants. In the rest of Orihuela with some 50,000 inhabitants and 100 police officers this ratio would seem to be respected. But in Orihuela Costa, with 30 police officers and 40,000 regular inhabitants the ratio is equal to only one police officer for every 1,300 inhabitants. We are reminded that in summer, the population of the coast exceeds 200,000 and the opportunities for crime multiply accordingly.
C.L.A.R.O. said they were “concerned that the governing party in Orihuela is once again ignoring the interests of Orihuela Costa,” they continued, “ It is not only services and infrastructure in general which have been subject to underinvestment and neglect. Security would seem to fall within the same category”.
"Owners of a house in Guardamar were robbed whilst they slept. Entrance to their property was forced at around dawn last Wednesday morning with thieves stealing 1,500€ in cash, two phones, a video camera, digital camera, MP3 player and the owner’s Seat Ibiza.
It was the second property to be robbed that night with police also receiving reports of a break in in Orito, showing this type of crime whilst the owners are sleeping is on the rise.
Already it has caused social alarm with people checking their security, especially as the summer draws closer when crime is on the increase."
"Probably you are by now, sick of hearing of the crime (mainly burglary) around here and this morning the house next to ours was done, the 7th in ten days! ours last year.
Our president has been to see the police with help from a Spanish resident and been told by them that this sort of crime is not on the list of priorities and nothing will be done about it – nothing!
A lot of people have become very rich due to us ‘victims’ and still are, we deserve better. I think the only way left is to organise some people (me included) to stand at Alicante airport with a big banner saying ‘Don’t bother to invest here, you will lose, crime pays on the Costas’ and then you might see some action from the hundreds of vested interests here, because nobody cares about the situation, they have the dough.
The property market will soon be badly affected by crime.
Yours sincerely,Philip H.Villamartin"
"I am writing this letter hoping you would publish it. I am sure it will be of interest to your readers and remind shoppers at Supermarkets to be on their guard.
My wife and I have lived in Rojales for over five years and although we have suffered some rip offs etc we thought we had escaped the dreaded brief case or hand bag snatch until last Wednesday.
My wife set off to do her shopping at Consum supermarket at Dona Pepa 2, I normally always accompany her, but on this occasion because we had visitors from the UK she went alone.
After she completed her shopping she transferred her shopping into the car, shut the boot, got into the car and put her handbag on the right side seat.
Still with one leg outside the door, a young Spanish man approached her.
In his hand was a euro, he showed her the euro and pointed under the car saying that there was more money there. She told him she would move the car forward, but as she turned her head to start the car, she saw another Spanish youth with her handbag. He had just that very movement took the bag by opening the front car door. This happened within a second or two.
For some unknown reason he immediately handed the bag back to her and then requested two euros which she refused to give him.
She arrived home in a distressed manner. I can only assume these Spanish two lads were amateurs as no professional bag snatcher would have handed the bag back. She was indeed very lucky. So shoppers beware."
Mugging in La ZeniaBy Contributor (office@theleader.info)(Published: 10/07/2005 Edition No.: 48)
Yesterday, Wednesday, my wife went to withdraw some money from the bank just under your office at 4:15pm. She then walked to the Consum car park for her car. She then drove to the La Zenia hotel to make a phone call. As she got out of the car, a white car approached her asking directions to La Zenia.
One of the men grabbed her bag, but she held onto the strap. The car accelerated, dragging her twenty feet until she had to let go. By a stroke of luck, the man dropped the bag. Seeing this, she got off the ground and ran for the bag whilst they were reversing.
She got the bag and ran towards the La Zenia hotel crying “Help! Help!” as they reversed closer. No way was this woman going to let a bunch of thugs take her hard earned money! Luckily there were people near by and the car sped off. It’s a pity she didn’t get the number. All this happened in seconds.
She suffered some cuts and bruises and, needless to say, shock. So be careful out there, day and night.
Yours sincerely
Ollie Sammon
La Zenia
Mugging in San Miguel By Staff Reporter
The Policia Local in San Miguel de Salinas recovered the car used as a getaway vehicle by two people, believed to be from Romania, who attacked and robbed two people aged 60 and 61 on the Ronda Oeste in the town.
The victims suffered cuts and bruises and had several items stolen.
A campaign began this week at Alicante airport targeting thieves preying on passengers. National police officers, backed up by local officers from Elche, will be carrying out spot checks at entry and exit points in a bid to catch the crooks. The first of these checks was carried out last Tuesday when police checked the identities of people arriving and leaving the airport.
The initiative hopes to crack down on the rising problem of bag snatches, thefts from cars and the punctured tyre trick, which increase during the busy Summer holiday season.
The checks will continue until further notice but a police spokesman add that whilst the checks act as a good deterrent people should always be aware of the potential dangers and take precautions with their belongings and be observant of what is going on around you.
Shopping in large hypermarket in Torrevieja, we parked our MPV in the car park. We packed the shopping in the car and went for lunch. On returning we saw a car parked alongside ours and heard the glass break as the driver of the other car broke into ours via the passenger window. We took the number and maks of car, had an excellent description of the man and although we were not fast enough on our feet to catch him,gave all details to police. Unfortunately there are two sorts of police in Spain and we had to take the details to the other. They were not interested, wouldn't help and we were sent to find an interpreter - no one wanted to help!!! We were informed later that this is common. There is so much crime there that they accept it. We were lucky that they didn't take the car. Never will we go there again and we reccommend anyone to go straight back to the apartment with their groceries. We were advised afterwards that the police must contact the British consul for an interpreter by phone and we could have dictated the details in this fashion.
Torrevieja crime black spot telegraph.co.uk 28-Mar-2008
Torrevieja is an Alicante crime black spot. While many instances of crime are reported every day, there are simply not enough police to deal with them. The Guardia Civil Union AUGC, claim that Torrevieja has a greater crime rate than Madrid.
This from Vecinos Colaborando (Neighbourhood watch)
1) Further to my message regarding thefts at Cash machines, we are hearing of a number in the Orihuela Costa area.
2) The fishermen are about again – The weather is getting warmer and people are leaving windows
open. We are getting reports of rods being used to remove wallets, keys, etc from inside property during the night. Please do not leave such items in view for people outside to see especially if the windows are left open.
3) We are also receiving reports of house doors being forced when they have not been locked properly. A good quality alarm which is connected to a control costs money but can save heartbreak and further cost. The thieves know which alarms are good and not easily disabled.
4) In the shopping areas, the old distraction trick is being used in our area. People, on returning to their car suddenly find a kind person telling them that they have dropped bank notes on the floor as they have got into the car. If this happens, do not be taken in, lock the car doors and drive away. Always beware of attempted distraction thefts especially on car parks. The elderly person asking for assistance, the local official wanting your opinion or you telling you that parking is prohibited or the lost traveller asking directions.
5) Another distraction theft which we have not yet encountered here, is that when it is necessary to reverse from a parking area, the driver finds that these is a piece of paper on his rear window prohibiting his view to the rear. He gets out of his car and is robbed.
6) When withdrawing money from banks, always do not leave the counter or desk before putting money safely away out of sight of other persons inside the bank or looking through bank windows from the street outside.
Vecinos Colaborando - Orihuela Costa - Fw_ BE AWARE OF THIS SCAM AT ATM'S - NEW.eml.eml, ATM_FRAUD.pps
I could go on and on and on but this site would be soon filled with similar postings to overflow !
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