Holding your mobile phone in your hand as you walk down the street in Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, has become a risky activity, it seems. This is confirmed by the city police in a post on social media X. The warning about this law and order problem, which goes beyond the sensations people might notice or what the statistics infer, is that walking around Barcelona with your mobile phone in your hand can be dangerous: thieves could steal it.
The Barcelona city police force, the Guàrdia Urbana, has explained on social media that officers from the central Ciutat Vella police station arrested a man who snatched the mobile phone out of the hands of a tourist walking through the city's Barri Gòtic. Although in this case the officers were able to identify and arrest him for the theft - if he did not use violence it is not even considered theft, depending on the value of the item - in other cases it is much more complicated to be able to recover them. Mobile phones are one of the most frequently stolen objects by regular and repeat offenders in the city of Barcelona, although the Number One spot in the ranking of objects stolen is, due to their value, high-end watches that are, often literally, ripped off their owners in the streets of the Catalan capital.
Thieves, the city police affirm in their message, look out for people with mobile phones in their hands that they could snatch away before sprinting off, especially among people who are actually using their devices - taking photos, sending messages or just carrying their phone in order to use it as a GPS - making it much easier for thieves to make a grab for the device. The Guàrdia Urbana warn that, in Barcelona, it is dangerous, due to thieves, to carry a mobile phone, and they recommend, if you have to use it, that you "hold on to it tightly and proceed taking great care".
Although it may seem like a common sense recommendation for virtually any large city, this message sent by the official social media of the Barcelona city police, shows that there is a law and order problem and that the theft of mobile phones concerns the police in the Catalan capital. The ability to walk around the city in safety, whether you're a resident of Barcelona, a passerby or a tourist, should be guaranteed as a minimum, but the reality is that you need to take care to prevent thieves from stealing your mobile phone.