Photo extracted from La Vanguardia Written by Jerico Agdan
Barcelona is the most insecure city in Spain according to the 2018 crime data published by the "Ministerio del Interior". The Catalan capital governed by Ada Colau, with more than 1,600,000 inhabitants, ranks as the first Spanish city with the most crime. Specifically, there is a rate of 119.85 crimes per thousand inhabitants along with twelve homicides in the current 2019. It is also asserted that there are more than 400 robberies a day in the city of Barcelona. Owing to the summer season, insecurity and vandalism have exponentially risen. The capital of Catalonia headed by Ms. Ada Colau is positioned as the most vulnerable European city. Until June of 2019, there were nine violent deaths, nonetheless, exclusively in July the number rocketed to five murders only this month according to the data of the "Ministerio del Interior". For instance, last week of July, a young Chinese died after receiving a brutal fight by a group of five men from Eastern Europe in "Port Olímpic" in front of the Zich nightclub. Such a catastrophe would not happen if patrol officers were there monitoring the area – the beach is one of the worst places to get robbed. Notwithstanding this tragedy, why robberies and homicides are happening? Why is the mayor not controlling it properly? How can we deal with it? What are the appropriate measures to combat this drastic issue? Having said that, Barcelona received heavy amounts of tourists, especially from Asian and Middle East countries. People are found with luxurious watches and devices so all year there are the victims. They are no-brainer targets since their culture has more restrictions about these crimes. For example, in Saudi Arabia, there is a stringent policy called the Sharia Law. If someone steals, officials can cut the man's robbers, as the Book of the Koran states. Owing to this phenomenon, thousands of residents are expressing their disagreement with the local council. Indeed, it exists several Facebook groups such as the "Barcelona Residents Against Robbery" and "Patrulla Ciutadana Barcelona/ Citizens Against Crime". Both groups have thousands of members. The former has more than 17.000 members. It aims to gather as many people as possible to demand the government for a change of laws and protect the citizens and residents. They also publish recent news of robberies to warn where the murders are, whether in the metro lines or touristic places. We can see their faces and recognize when we bump into them. Moreover, they also announce free self-defense classes from experts, which is a great idea to prevent misfortunes. These are great initiatives, however, it is not sufficient. A group of four women and four men take turns touring the suburban of Barcelona morning, afternoon and night almost every day. The newly released initiative is inspired by "The Guardian Angels of New York," a patrol of volunteers who began patrolling the New York suburban in the late 1970s to prevent criminal acts. The Barcelona version of the phenomenon, however, focuses on combating the scourge of thefts in the subway and does not have the approval of any administration or police force. Nonetheless, both Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) and Mossos d'Esquadra advise against these self-organization practices to avoid theft in public transport. Catalan police sources assured La Vanguardia that "they cannot prevent people from patrolling" while recalling that the safety of the metro is the responsibility of Mossos, Guardia Urbana and the private security company hired by TMB. However, the Catalan police positively value "citizen collaboration" when reporting on the presence of thieves in public transport through the emergency number 112 or to inform the security guards of the subway. However, in the last week of July, the leader of the organization patrol, Eliana Guerrero, and eight members of the citizen patrol that she pilots herself have been stopped at the Passeig Gràcia by the Mossos d'Esquadra due to TMB orders. According to her, eight agents of the Catalan police and eight others of private security of TMB have kept them held for more than half an hour at the exit of Paseo de Gràcia with Gran Vía, where the green and yellow lines join. Sources of the Barcelona Metro have assured that the retention occurred for carrying pepper sprays that they used threateningly against pickpockets. It was then that a private security agent approached and asked them to accompany him to one of the hallways. They held them there for more than half an hour. According to the Spanish law, it is approved to grab a pepper spray for self-defense made with 5% CS to anyone older than 18 years. Therefore, is not understandable their imprisonment albeit in just a little period of time. As can be perceived, Catalan Law does not protect its residents and citizens, but murderers do take advantage of it. They are earning lots of money by rubbering, and if they get caught, they will be imprisoned just for a few hours or a day and have a small fine. Ms. Ada Colau should take measures now, she does not witness the truth of Barcelona. Indeed, in her Instagram and Twitter pages, she only publishes content about diversity, pride, and feminism, but does not show the other part of Barcelona, the crimes, nor mentions about them. Residents demand a new change, a new change of law to protect the citizens and to feel a little bit of freedom. Besides, she also has to control the MENA subject, in theory, it is a good idea to receive people to improve their quality of life, but in practice, it is daunting to manage more than 6000 MENAs. I hope she understands why Barcelona citizens are extremely bothered about this topic. Indeed, international attention has also turned to Barcelona's crimes thanks to non-local newspapers and media. Owing to that, fewer tourists will come next year because they are scared of being robbed, which Ada Colau will not agree about to happen next year since Barcelona's economy is focused on tourism. Therefore, she does have to take measures right now by talking with local residents' opinions and take appropriate actions. If not, Barcelona will become the Bronx of New York. Written by Jerico Agdan
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