Ciutat Vella

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Pickpockets have long been a problem in Las Ramblas - a popular tourist meeting point

Multiple violent robberies, including the robbery of a foreign diplomat, drew attention to a wave of Crime in Barcelona, alarming the inhabitants and The Local authorities.

The Afghan Ambassador in Spain, Humayoon Rasaw, was robbed in the night on Monday in the centre of Barcelona, when multiple attackers threw him to the ground and took his watch. Mr. Rasaw suffered a leg injury in The Attack .

A few blocks away, also in the night on Monday, a 91-year-old head suffered injuries when thieves grabbed her necklace.

it was Now treated by a German Tourist in hospital after he was ambushed Two Days earlier in the same area.

Barcelona's City Hall , Director of security, Albert Battle, has described to confirm The Situation as "A Crime crisis," and the statistics seem to support that this trend began before the summer.

Overall, criminal offences increased from 9% in The First six months of this year, compared with the same period in the year 2018.

violent crimes were up 31% over the same period (with an increase of almost 60% in The Last three years), while robbery with violence against the company to 66% were.

'control'

"is It to confess the time, The Situation is out of control," said Luis Sans , President of an Association for the representation of the company on the Passeig de Gràcia, a wide street runs through the center of Barcelona.

But while The Authorities and The Police , that the Catalan capital is struggling to cope with this trend, you don't see a clear cause that drives you.

The Catalan government has decided to Step Up The Police patrols in Barcelona

A city of 1. 6 million inhabitants, Barcelona drew with 16 million visitors last year. Pickpockets and other petty criminals have long been in operation, in the tourist-heavy areas such as Las Ramblas and the Ciutat Vella district that surrounds it.

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An official at the town hall, says that The Rise in Crime in The City is a "collateral effect" of Barcelona's meteoric rise as a tourist hub, as it hosts the Olympic Games in 1992.

But the wave of Crime has also been attributed to the Spanish legal order. Courts interpretation of the 2015 reform of the criminal code means that for The First time for small-time criminals rarely pay to be in jail, even those caught re-offending, is often a punishment, instead of going to jail, if you steal items with a value of less than €400(£367).

"the legislature and The judiciary, not the administration, to a response to a specific problem in our society: repeated Theft ," Andrés Maluelda, of The Law firm Molins, told El Periódico newspaper. The current legal framework, he said, provides a level of impunity of professional thieves.

Political wrangling

the Other are to blame, The Presence of unaccompanied minors immigrants in The City .

Alberto Fernandez from the conservative popular party (PP) said early this year that 80% of these children, the land is predominantly from Morocco, "in criminal circles, and they will undermine the life, the life" in the neighborhood, where.

statistics in support of Mr Fernández, the claim will not be displayed, and the town hall, led by the left-wing Mayor Ada Colau , says that no such link should be made.

"The Presence of these unaccompanied minors to be a year in Barcelona, is a social problem," says a City Hall source. "[But] we will, in any case, your presence here with the increase in Crime . "

Mayor Ada Colau (L), there is the fact that you accused with The Crime problem

Although the political opposition, Ms Colau of being soft on Crime , it has a positive effect on The City budget for the security. Last year, funds to combat Crime increased by 16%, according to official figures, followed by an increase of 11% in this year's budget.

the Catalan regional government has agreed to deploy 300 additional police officers in The City in September, after a plea from City Hall , which said it lacked officers on The Street .

in addition to thefts, a rise in violent deaths in The Last few months is also a concern. Died in June, a South Korean woman who was visiting Barcelona with a government delegation on a head injury after a fall, when a thief grabbed her purse.

Such incidents have brought bad publicity to a popular town for its sunshine, beaches, bars and monuments.

But the head of the security, the problem should not be exaggerated. "Barcelona is still a safe city compared with others, such as Paris, London or Rome," said Mr. Battle.

"This is a large, complex city and there are many factors in the game," said a spokesman for the Catalan police, pointed out that the violence had increased its arrest rate in an attempt to stem The Rise in Crime . "We do not believe that there is a cause behind all of this. "

tourism, barcelona, crime

Source of news: bbc.com