The Portugal News • 18 Aug 2012 LIFESTYLELIFESTYLELIFESTYLELIFESTYLELIFESTYLE 25

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mainly gold necklaces/chains.This is not really surprisinggiven the high value commodi-ties such as gold and copper.Criminals look for easy preyand unfortunately the elderlyare more likely victims al-though in some cases youngpersons have also been tar-geted. The risk of such crimehowever can be considerablyreduced and indeed prevented,by tucking such chains insideyour shirt and avoiding thewearing of expensive jewelleryand other valuables in publicplaces especially at night.

It is wise not to carry largesums of cash, valuables, creditcards, passports and traveltickets together. It’s a good ideato keep photocopies of impor-tant documents separately. Toavoid pick pocketing carry wal-lets in front pockets rather thanback pockets and handbagsshould be secured under thearm. In markets and shops takecare not to place wallets andhandbags on stalls and countersand in restaurants do not hanghandbags on the back of chairs.Use ATM machines in well litareas and cover the keypad withyour hand when keying in yourpin numbers.

NIGHT LIFE/BARSAlthough statistically low,

one type of crime that is sure tomake headlines in the media isunfortunately violence againsttourists. The scenario usuallygoes like this: “Mr X was walk-ing back to his hotel in the earlyhours of the morning and wassuddenly set upon, beaten androbbed.”

The truth sometimes is morelike: “Mr X, who had beendrinking for many hours in a bar,had been involved in a disputewith others, was staggeringback to his hotel alone and was

suddenly set upon beaten androbbed.” I appreciate this is notalways the case however andothers were simply behavingnormally and were unfortu-nately in the wrong place at thewrong time.

There are a number of lessonshere. Firstly try to avoid gettingtotally ‘smashed’. Getting intoa dispute particularly overwomen can result in retribution– so try and avoid this. The bestway of returning to the hotel orvilla is by taxi or if you do de-cide to walk then walking in agroup reduces the risk. It’s allabout ‘risk’ and criminals offcourse know this – they arelooking for easy victims. Barowners also have a part to playthrough refusing to serve drinkto those who clearly are drunkand offering to contact taxis forthose in such a state who needto get back to their hotel or villa.

Foreign and CommonwealthOffice (FCO) Travel Advice isthat sexual assaults are infre-quent. Nevertheless, be alert tothe possible use of ‘date rape’and other drugs, including‘GHB’ and liquid ecstasy. Pur-chase your own drinks and keepsight of them at all times tomake sure they cannot bespiked: female travellers shouldbe particularly watchful.

BEACHESWhist beaches present a

great place to relax they can onoccasions attract criminal ele-ments. Most beaches in theAlgarve are safe but it is stillbest not to take valuable itemswith you, as using a credit cardto hire a beach umbrella is un-likely to be accepted! In goingto the beach try to find a loca-tion, particularly if you arealone, not too far away fromothers. When setting your be-longings, try not to unpack and

subsequently repack valuableitems. This also avoids thepossibility of something likecar keys becoming lost in thesand! In paying vendors on thebeach it is best to take smallamounts of money from yourpocket rather that produce yourpurse or wallet.

Keep valuables in a bag anduse this as a pillow especiallyif you are alone. If you fallasleep then it makes it difficultto steal items unnoticed.

Again if alone and need to go

into the sea it is normally a goodidea to ask someone close bywho appears trustworthy(families are a good bet) if theywould mind keeping an eye onyour belongings for a shortwhile and then return the favourlater.

As a last resort if you dohave some valuables keep themeither on your person, in a wa-terproof pouch, when you gofor a swim or hidden in yourbag where it can be seen by youfrom close by.

VILLASLike other crimes theft from

villas is mainly carried out byopportunists as a result of doorsand windows being left openwhen occupants leave the villaand security alarms not beingset. If there is a safe in the villait should be used. If it is a largeproperty when using the pooltake care to close windows inother parts of the property thatare not being used especiallythose facing roads or open land.Opportunist criminals will lookfor valuable items that are leftunattended on terraces andclose to swimming pools whilstoccupants are indoors so do notleave such items on display.When leaving the villa in theevening leave lights on in thehall, lounge and an upstairsroom and a radio switched on.

FCO travel advice is to makesure that your holiday accom-modation has adequate secu-rity measures in place and en-sure that all doors and windowsare locked at night or when yougo out. If you are worried aboutsecurity at your accommoda-tion, you should speak to yourtour operator or the owner.

The police working with vari-ous agencies, the hotel industryand community groups havedone much to develop new ini-tiatives to fight crime and thishas proven to have had signifi-cant results. Police patrols have

been enhanced in tourist areasthis summer and a number of ex-cellent arrests have been made.Significant seizures of drugs inrecent weeks should reduce thatavailable for local distributionwhich in turn should help re-duce drug-related crime. Theseare some of the reasons whycrime is decreasing.

Lastly, it is important thatwhen visiting any country visi-tors familiarise themselves withpublic safety and crime issues.

David ThomasSafe Communities Algarve

More crime prevention ad-vice for tourists visiting the Al-garve can be found on the SafeCommunities Algarve website:www.safecommunitiesalgarve.com,or by contacting: info@safecommunitiesalgarve.com.David Thomas may also be con-sulted at the Golden TriangleExhibition, which will takeplace on 20 & 21 October at theVila Sol Golf & Resort Hotel,Vilamoura.

accurate,factual and

unbiasedinfo