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When in Rome...Keep an Eye on Your Purse
If someone mentions Rome, a lot of things come to mind. You might think of museums, fountains, narrow streets, the pope, the history....the petty thieves. A recent post by Elizabeth Rosenthal on IHT's Globespotters blog relates how Rome, while a great city and popular tourist destination, is not the idyllic spot some might expect. Pickpockets and bag snatching artists are out in full force in even the nicest of neighborhoods. Rosenthal relates a story of a cell phone being plucked from a cafe table when the owner averted his eyes for mere seconds, and another about how she had her wallet taken out of her backpack...on two occasions...along the same street.
I recently posted about Cambodia seeing a rise in bag snatching. While the same kind of "wild west atmosphere" that some people think characterizes Phnom Penh is nowhere to be found in Rome, it does seem ironic that two cities with totally opposite images suffer from the same problem.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
KCL Sep 23rd 2008 12:15PM
I was just there for 6 days, and was amazed at how safe a city it was given its size. No hint of any issues at any time. The only danger was being run over by the street vendors running from the police!
thiefhunter Sep 23rd 2008 12:43PM
Rome and Phnom Penh are not unique, sad to say. Pickpocketing and bagsnatching are in full swing there and elsewhere. In most cities, immigrants are to blame. For example, in Rome, though they do have a number of local thieves, the majority are from North Africa and Eastern Europe. In Spanish cities, they also come in from South America. In Russia, they come from Mongolia. In Tokyo, from Korea. Tourist victims are not usually aware of this, and tend to blame the citizens of the country they're visiting. Always, the immigrants are from poor nations, flocking to wealthier ones.
For the past few months, Berlusconi has been trying to rid Rome of street crime by incarcerating illegal immigrants and extending the time they can be held to 18 months. As a researcher of global street crime, I wrote about this issue here: http://bobarno.com/thiefhunters/2008/06/street-crime-in-rome/ and I've addressed the huge impact immigration has on street crime throughout Thiefhunters in Paradise. http://bobarno.com/thiefhunters/ It's a fascinating example of squeezing the balloon. Countries considered safe, even immune to most street crime, for example cities in Scandinavia, have seen explosions of thievery along with increases in immigration. Open borders in the EU has also shaken things up.
sid Sep 23rd 2008 9:35PM
When I was in Rome, I felt a hand reach into my pocket. I grabbed the hand and pushed the person away. When I turned around, it was 12 year old girl. If kids are resorting to pickpocketing, they've got some serious problems to take care of.