Barcelona is generally a safe city to visit, but it does have a problem with pickpockets and petty crime. We explain what to do if you fall victim to crime when your are in Barcelona.
POLICE STATIONS
If you are unfortunatly a victim of crime there are many police stations to make a report (denuncia). It is important to follow some of the following steps when reporting a crime to the police –
- Make a report as soon as possible at the nearest police station after crime taking place or witnessing a crime.
- If there were any witnesses to a crime it is important that you get their names and phone numbers.
- Take note of the perpretators and and write down any important information such as nationality, appearance, tatoos, clothing etc.
- Report the direction they went, if they had a car or scooter and if so make, model and registration plate.
- If a mobile phone was stolen report to the police any numbers that were called after the phone was stolen by contacting your mobile phone provider.
- Dont touch anything the perpretators may have touched, the police may check for fingerprints.
- If a friend or family member goes missing do not wait 24 hours to report, you can report missing persons at anytime.
- If your hotel room or apartament is burgled make sure you do not touch anything such as doors, windows or objects. Do not touch cigarrette butts or any items left by the thiefs.
- Make a list of stolen belongings or items before going to a police station. Also take any invoices, make and model of item stolen and serial numbers.
- Take a copy of any travel insurance policies or documents.
THE EMERGENCY NUMBER IN SPAIN IS “112” Add this number to your contact list incase an incident arises that you need to contact the police or any other emergency service urgently.
TO STAY SAFE IN BARCELONA FOLLOW THESE RULES –
Keep to busy areas and avoid quiet side streets when out late at night. If possible, get a taxi to your hotel, especially if you have been drinking alcohol. If anyone approaches you be cautious, keep a tight hold on your wallet, phone and valuables, keep your distance and don’t let strangers get too close. Pickpockets use diversion tactics, they may work in groups and can create a theater of circumstances to get you off guard and try to steal your valuables.
Keep valuables in the hotel safe deposit box and only take out what you need for the day. Think about your bags and remember items can be stolen easily from handbags and rucksacks, especially on the metro. Invest in a good waist belt for valuables and cash that is unreachable of pickpockets.
Keep your mobile phone safe in Barcelona
Before travelling to Barcelona (or any large city) make sure you back up your mobile phone family photos, videos, and contacts to cloud storage. Create a pin screen lock or similar. Activate fingerprint / biometric logins. Select find my phone if you have this feature. Make sure you have any important contact numbers, flight or train times, bookings, boarding passes or anything else written or printed on paper and kept safe and hidden in case your mobile phone is stolen.
Never keep pins or passwords in your phone. If you are keeping pins or passwords in photos, notes, doc files or anywhere else on your phone, then delete them. Thieves check the phone docs for passwords or sensitive information. Never have the same pin you use at cash machines to unlock your phone. Thieves are now trying to view your pins at cash machines (shoulder surfing) to steel your phone and attempt to use the pin they saw at the cash machine to unblock your phone and even enter banking apps.
Most crime in large cities can easily be avoided by not creating a situation to attract pickpockets or thieves. In busy areas, keep on your guard and keep a tight hold on your valuables and belongings.
So, how safe is Barcelona? If you take advice from this article, and don’t give picket pockets or thieves an opportunity to steal from you, Barcelona is quite a safe city to visit. The city still has an above-average crime rate, with most crimes being more petty crimes rather than violent crimes.
