The amount of stolen passports per day, I don't find out of line. I just finished reading "The Art of the Steal" by Frank Abagnale. For those of you who do not know, he is the man, the movie "Catch Me if You Can" was based on his younger years. He is now a security specalist in fraud and white collar crime. I would recomend reading that book at your earliest convience.

MM don't think that is a plug for the book, I don't own stock in the publishing company. If it can prevent someone from haveing their id stolen, and the ulcers that creates, it is worth it. Besides, people can always go to the library and Booklady will be happy to check it out to them.

The book goes into detail as to how one can protect their self at an ATM, Protect credit card numbers, and other methods of outwitting the criminal element. Criminals are more interested in the information on the passport than using the passport to enter the US or other countries.

I have been around the block a couple of times in this past half century, but that book was a real eye opener. I highly recomend reading it.

At the risk of beating a dead horse, I must say again that the "guide book" hype over crime in Madrid and Barcelona is way overblown.

If you are an American and live in a big US city, you are already exposed to far worse levels of crime, and I mean real crime. I am sad to say all of this but statistics do not lie.

Compare Detroit and Madrid, thank God that they do not get many tourists in Detroit!

Go and enjoy the city and don't worry.

Dave B.

I will compare Madrid to Detroit. And I think I have a whole lot better chance of being a victim of crime in Madrid. "Figures don't lie, but liars will figure" But as for violent crimes, Detroit is much worse.
I've been to Detroit and I've been to Madrid. I've never gone looking for crime but I found it in Madrid, twice and never in Detroit. There's no evading the fact, Madrid is inundated with crime.
Now, let's consider Cleveland.

gazpacho IS correct. There's probably more instances of crime in Madrid (3 million population) than in Detroit. You're MUCH more likely to have your pocket picked in Madrid than Detroit. In Detroit, they don't bother picking your pocket because it's easier to just kill you and then bend down to take it off your corpse.

We, here in Columbus, Ohio USA (population about 500,000 in-city), have a MUCH higher murder-rate (seems almost everyday there's another murder) than in Madrid which might have 15 murders in one year. We have almost no pick-pocketers and infrequent purse-snatchings here in Columbus too.

I choose having my pocket-picked over having a bullet through my heart. So "safety" is really a relative term. I think people, in general, here in Columbus, Ohio, USA feel very very safe with regards to petty crimes but feel very very UNSAFE with regards to violent crimes. I think it's just the opposite for Spaniards living in Madrid. I think they feel very very safe with regards to violent crime and UNsafe with regards to non-violent crimes.

Here in Columbus and in the USA we don't yell at others because we fear they'll pull out a gun and kill us. In Spain, people feel relatively free to yell at one another with no fear of such retribution.

Saludos, MadridMan

Not trying to be picky or anything but....MadridMan lives in columbus, Ohio???!!!

Yup. It's like a bad joke so please don't rub it in. It's painful enough already. Read the " All About MadridMan " page for more details.

Saludos, MadridMan

Madridman,

I could not agree with you more. I'd rather be confronted with the petty, non-violent crime that goes on in Madrid, if I had to choose. The type of crime I was exposed to in Madrid was more annoying than frightening.

In Madrid, the crime is undoubtably plied by people trying to eek out a living in a country where it's harder and harder to do so, especially for foreigners. In the U.S., in the major cities, i.e. Detroit, crime is perpetrated by those involved in drugs, a much more dangerous, irresponsible, group. I'd never recommend a vacation in Detroit.

People should just be aware of how rampant petty non-violent crime is in Madrid. If they don't mind occasionally contributing to the criminal element there, have a nice vacation.

Gazpacho and others -

I have heard this about the Albaicin area of Gradada and the Rough Guide says, "If you do get something snatched, don't offer resistance; crime in these streets rarely involves attacts to the person, but thieves will be firm in getting what they want". I'm just wondering if there are other cities with areas where the crime is drug-related and therefore somewhat more ominous?

>In the U.S., in the major cities, i.e. Detroit, crime is perpetrated by those involved in drugs, a much more dangerous, irresponsible, group.