I just got back from Madrid late Friday night. We saw two people have their pockets (or backpacks) picked, a member of our tour group had her change purse lifted from her backpack while she was changing currency, and a student had a fellow metro rider drape his jacket over her arm in a clumsy attempt to steal something. The best scenario was the guy in Plaza de España who took something from a guy's backpack and was chased down by two policeman! Mind you, the kid had a jump start and was a lot younger than the police, but they chased the little creep, caught him, put him in handcuffs and hauled his butt away! The police must have been aware of activity there because just prior to the incident we saw two mounted police, two motorcycle cops and a squad car in the Plaza AT THE SAME TIME! With all that coverage, I don't know what the ladrón could have been thinking! Hats off to the Spanish police for being physically fit enough to run after the punk! I don't think we have many police officers around here who could have done that!

Whhheeeewwww what relief good humor affords...and yes, we 5 can be feisty and fearless rather than fearful so with knowledge that the Madrid police are taking a stand on this petty and not so petty criminal conduct and that backpacks poking in these creeps' faces are to be avoided(not that I'd be wearing one out at night)we shall tuck our mad money out of sight,lock arms and set out to enjoy it all!

I have been in Madrid for over a week now and have yet to experience anything (knock on wood) nor have I seen anything (but then of course I am too busy staring at people staring at me to notice anything). I think though that it might help that I have a gigantic tattoo of a woman with a gun on my leg, I´ve noticed several creepy fellows look me up and down, see the tattoo and look the other way. Now I don´t suggest that you go out and get a tattoo of a woman with a gun, although that would be funny, but I also look like I´m ready to kick some a·· if need be and to run, which I think is important in any large city you go to. Wear good shoes and look like you can take care of yourself and that should help. Oh...and carry your money in different places than people would traditionally expect.

Another good thing that I´ve done is that I put things that would make a mess on top if someone was trying to get into my pockets. For instance, I put my sunglasses on top of things at an odd angle, so that if you were trying to reach into my pocket, you would have to pull out the sunglasses, which I would definitely feel. Or my keys, etc. As ridiculous as this sounds, it actually works.

Somebody mentioned that carrying mace was either illegal or not at all helpful- is that true? I'd feel a little better about our upcoming trip if I knew I had something to protect me from a mugging.

Well, mace is illegal in Spain, so I wouldn't recommend trying to bring any into the country. Furthermore if you were to use it, you could possibly face charges (if you mugger was dumb or audacious enough to report you - but I've heard of similar cases!)
But don't worry! Madrid is not really dangerous. Read some other postings about safety, pay attention to basic tips, which really just amount to common sense, and enjoy yourself!

I think you'd also have a pretty hard time getting the mace on an airliner in the US, since they kind of frown on it (you might mace the cabin attendant afetr a couple of bloody marys).

That said, I've spent a week alone in Madrid around the Puerta del Sol, etc. and never been bothered. I do watch my back and always stop and stare at things occasionally so I know what's going on around me. I also carry as few valuables as possible when I'm out and about. It's always best to just give it up if someone comes after you.

Still, I was in Barcelona with two friends a few years ago. We were sitting in a Metro station waiting for a train when I noticed three kids on the bench next to us who seemed very interested in my friend's backpack (he, at the time, was very interested in a map of Barcelona and was oblivious). I motioned to my second friend about the three kids. We were both on alert. When the train pulled in and we stood up the kids rushed to the door in front of us. It was then that I realized their plan. I put my hands in my pockets (to hang on to my valuables) and dropped my shoulders slightly like I was going between guard and tackle so that when they suddenly turned to rush off the train (and attempt to pick our pockets in their self-made confusion), I leaned in to them and actually knocked one down onto the train floor. They realized they were had and ran out of the train and off the platform. Meanwhile, as my second friend and I were laughing about these kids getting "theirs", my first friend was still deciding the best way to the Sagrada Familia.

The point of this long-winded post is that some people notice and some don't. Keep your eyes open and act reasonably and you should be just fine.


BTW, I couldn't tell you the ancestry of these guys. It was their suspicious behavior that tipped me off.

I would like to comment on all of the paranoid people who are giving spain a bad rap. I just returned from a 9 day/night trip in madrid. I am 30 years old and I traveled with my girlfriend. During my stay in Madrid, I did not encounter or see any type of muggings, robbery, or theft. I walked the wonderful streets of madrid at all hours of the night and I never saw any type of trouble. We carried a backpack and used our camera throughout our trip. We even asked many locals to take our picture. Maybe we were just luckly...or maybe, and probably, the amount of crime is disproportionately reported on these type of websites. I must say that prior to my trip I became a little nervous after ready all the warnings on the net. After my first 5 hours in Madrid I realized that my fears were unfounded. The people in Madrid were the nicest people I have met in Europe thus far. The only "crime" I saw in Madrid was when a person asked me if I wanted to buy some hash near the Retiro park. I just said no thanks and kept walking. That's it! I am posting this so people who may be nervous or fearful of pure "anarchy" in madrid will not be discouraged from visiting. Unfortunately, some people will be victimized in every city in the world, including Madrid, but please try to keep things in perspective.

I agree.

I'm meeting some friends this trip who have never been to Europe. It never dawned on me how fearful Americans can be when they make their first trip to Europe.

Don't worry. You're probably safer sleeping naked on a park bench in Retiro than you are walking down Bourbon Street in broad daylight (no offense to New Orleans -- I have family there and I love N.O.).

As far as the Spanish people -- from Pamplona to Barcelona to Madrid to Sevilla to Cadiz -- it's like going to an extended family reunion, you may not quite know who this person is, standing next to you, but you can see the love in their eyes.

That said...watch your bag on the Metro.

Gora San Fermin!

i sort of agree. i´m without male companionship and i do feel that male companionship helps a little. but i´m also a somewhat aggressive black woman and this helps a lot. my female friends, especially the scandanavian-looking ones have a tougher time in madrid and are always super alert because of it. but i also think that some people have more to lose if something is stolen. not to start an argument, because i´m not saying at all that everything someone has isn´t valuable to some extent, it´s just that if you have nothing, what little you have means something (i don´t think you can put this all under paranoia), verdad?

Someone who posts on this site to say that s/he was the victim of a crime or a witness to a crime is not suffering from paranoia!

I'm always glad to hear that someone has returned from Spain with wonderful memories,having never experienced any petty crime at all...in fact, I think that describes the majority of people who visit Spain! The fact that nothing bad happened does not, however, negate the fact that crimes occur even in wonderful places like Spain! I appreciate a heads-up on areas that seem to be the hardest hit by criminal types...it helps me remember to stay alert. Ironically, the place a Spanish friend warned me about (Plaza de España) is exactly the place where I saw the police catch a thief!

Most of the people who posted messages about crimes had positive things to say about their trips to Spain in spite of what happened. Certainly, if you had lost everything you owned the first day of your trip, you would be somewhat soured by the experience. As Sheba said, some people are also traveling on a frayed shoestring budget and have little or no backup if what they have is stolen.