Why Barcelona is a street crime hotspot - and how to beat the thieves
(The Guardian Money News)

After Patrick Collinson´s tale of mugging, we look at how robbers get away with it, and readers share their experiencesMuch 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 EUR400 (£357) it´s a falta (misdemeanour), not a delito (crime). If you are caught, you will be fined, probably around EUR50, 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. Continue reading...