Police in Capdepera, for which read primarily Cala Rajada, last week issued advice about security on beaches. This followed an increase in the number of reports of theft that the police had been receiving.
The advice was, or should be, pretty obvious. Only take limited amounts of money with you. Leave credit cards, cameras and other equipment back in the hotel. Assuming, that is, that there isn't a problem with theft at the hotel. One other piece of advice was to not turn your back on your belongings while in the sea, which would be interesting to witness were everyone to follow the advice. If you can't do a backstroke, then you can forget having a swim.
The beach is a place where it is easy to be lulled into a false sense of security. No one expects to have their stuff nicked, and time was when there really wasn't that much to nick. Nowadays, there is. The entire contents of a Dixon's, for example. The ad for Amazon's Kindle, the one with the young woman looking delighted while reading whatever she was reading, the screen perfectly legible in the bright sun of the beach, didn't make any mention of the fact that the Kindle would be the target of a beach thief once the back was turned and a gentle breaststroke was being performed.
Why take all the electronics to the beach anyway? The answer is simple. Because you have it; be it a phone, a camera, an iPad, whatever it might be. I confess that I take a phone with me, but it's a rubbish phone; I wouldn't dream of taking a smartphone.
Is crime, and particularly petty crime, on the increase? It would seem that it is. British Consul Paul Abrey was on BBC's Radio One saying that it was (in Ibiza at any rate). Economic hard times mean increased crime. Logical. Pickpocketing appears to be rampant, given the tales of woe from those who have had their wallets lifted.
Detecting the villains, though, isn't easy. And even when you think you have detected one, you really can't be sure. I'll give an example. A few years ago, there was an incident at an Eroski. An aged British tourist had been pickpocketed. He pointed at a character heading away from the shop. I went in pursuit, together with another tourist, a burly Brit who looked as though he might be handy. The alleged villain obviously thought the same when we caught up with him. I felt sorry for him as he clearly believed he was about to be on the end of a good slapping. He wasn't, and of course he had nothing on him. So had he been the pickpocket? Had he passed on his booty? Maybe and maybe. Or maybe not.
The Capdepera police also made the point that the "delinquents" (I'm translating literally) dress like other beach users. They blend in. They don't stand around with masks over their eyes and walk away from the scene of the crime with a large bag bearing the word "SWAG" in large lettering. Which is decidedly inconsiderate of them.
Blending in is how it is. The flower sellers never used to exactly blend in of course, and they still managed to have it away with your wallet, and God knows where they disappeared to. Into thin air. I once went in pursuit of one of them as well, when a German tourist was robbed outside the same Eroski. No sign. Absolutely none whatsoever. They were a bit of a giveaway, though. Other blenders-in are the timeshare (sorry, holiday club) touts. They're back. In Alcúdia at any rate, but seem far less aggressive than was once the case. I had a chat with one of them. Only interested in the Scandinavians; they're the ones with money. But business isn't brisk apparently; Tenerife is much better.
At least with the touts they don't rob you there and then. Indeed, they don't rob you at all. They're just after the commissions; you can't really blame them for wanting to make some money. It's the other blenders-in who are the problem. The ones who bump into you, come up to you in an overly matey fashion, ask you for the time. So, the police advice for the beach goes for the streets as well.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
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