Why doesn't the Barcelona government do more?

Perusing online article about Barcelona, I came across the Sydney Morning Herald's Barcelona travel section. The top two articles? World's Top 10 Worst Cities for Pickpockets (I was kind of amused by the title - if one were to become a pickpocket, I think Barcelona would be the perfect place, not the worst) and Traveller's Tale: Surviving a car-jacking in Barcelona. Barcelona, of course, had the dubious honor of being #1 worst city for pickpockets and the tale of the car-jacking was frightening, although the "victims" managed to get away unscathed and with all of their belongings.

There has been a glut of these stories in the past few months - both in the press and from firsthand experience with hostel guests. The busy season for us, and apparently all of the crooks in Barcelona, kicked off around Semana Santa in April, and it hasn't let up since. Spain's unemployment rate is officially at 19.3%, up from 11.9% one year ago, and I've heard threats of 25% in the next three years. The Eurozone is technically out of the recession posting 3Q GDP growth figures, but Spain is not. We join countries like Estonia and Romania posting GDP decreases. The EU has helped Spain curb it's illegal immigration problem by about 50% this year, but there are still thousands of immigrants arriving from even worse off economies looking for opportunities in Spain. So it's easy to understand that there are a lot of desperate, poor people in Spain right now, hence the increase in pick-pocketing, robbery and petty theft.

To me, what is so difficult to understand is why the government of Barcelona doesn't appear to be doing much about the problem. In a city that relies so heavily on tourist money (7 to 8 billion euros annually), one would think it would have a vested interest in keeping those tourists, and their money, safe as well as protecting Barcelona's image. In a quick search on TripAdvisor's forums, three of the top five posts were about pickpockets and safety in Barcelona. Even if 1 out of 50 people has a problem here, you can bet that 1 person goes home and tells 10 people about their terrible experience in Barcelona.

Here's the problem: Barcelona has crazy laws about petty theft. I've been told that robberies of less than 300 euros are punishable by a 60 euro fine, but the money and stolen good do not need to be returned. Police will not take reports of violent crimes (if a mugger hits you or knocks you down) unless you go to the hospital, which is extremely costly and difficult for tourists. The main police station in Barcelona only has translators during a small time slot every day, so many victims are told to come back later with their complaints. Many never do. Therefore, so many petty thefts go unreported that the Barcelona government may not even realize the extent of the problem.

I still contend that Barcelona is a very safe city. None of my friends and family visiting nor I have ever had a problem. As long as you keep your wits about you, avoid unsafe situations, and stay aware of your belongings, you shouldn't face any dangerous situations in Barcelona. The police need to crackdown as well. On any given day, I could pick out about 5 pickpockets and scam artists operating on Passeig de Gracia, so why can't they? Better lighting, increased police patrolling in tourity areas, and security cameras could all serve as deterrents. Also, why not increase punishments for petty theft? I'm not talking about caning or cutting off hands, but the damage that theft does goes beyond the number of euros in the wallet; it's destroying Barcelona's image and will hurt the tourism industry. Barcelona has pledged to invest 801 million euros next year in citizen services. Can we put a few of those to use protecting our citizens and visitors from crime?

Thanks Barcelona. That's my two cents.