The other day I was at the tourist information office in the city looking for information on tourist attractions. Amongst the brochures on display I picked up something called STOP Antisocial Behaviour. This was a pamphlet describing the types of activities and behaviours which are liable for prosecution. I opened the pamphlet and took a look at what was punishable behaviour in this city. These activities are not permitted in public spaces and trespassers will be punished with fines. The list is quite logical and reasonable for what should be tolerated in public. The fines are very heavy. But what shocked me is that all of these behaviours / activities I had seen being committed frequently by locals and visitors - without the police evening enforcing the law.
These include :
Illegal Hawking 500 Euro fine. Hawkers are everywhere !
Sexual Services 3000 Euros fine. Eastern European prostitutes sit on plastic chairs every hundred metres on highways ! African women grab men by the arm and bully them into sex on La Rambla and other places in the city. I have even had an aggressive attack by an African hooker. I had to fight this woman to get her off my arm.
Consuming Alcohol in Public Spaces 1500 Euros fine. Tourist and locals sit or walk in the street with drinks in their hands. Pakistani vendors walk around selling cans of beer in the streets and on beaches.
Urinating in Public 1500 Euros fine. There are open air toilets in certain places in the city (for men only). I have also seen many men just unzipping in a corner or alongside a tree or in front of the shore.
Skateboarding and cycling outside assigned areas. 1500 Euros fine. The city has special cycling paths and places for skaters all over but one is always having to watch out for bikes and skateboards which come out of nowhere and almost knock you down.
Graffiti and defacement 3000 Euros fine. Graffiti is everywhere. No enforcement...
Gambling 3000 Euros fine. Groups of organised Russian criminals run "gambling games" on La Rambla and target tourists who think they can easily turn 50 euros into 100 or 400 into 800. Double your money! Once your money is in their hands it does not matter if you win or lose, you will not see any of it again. They become aggressive and intimidate you. I have seen some innocent yet foolish tourists lose lots of money with this one. Some tourists even said they would call the police. The men just pack up the game and dash off to safety with their takings.
I was shocked to see how many things are punishable but which actually go unnoticed or unenforced. I think that perhaps the rest of the world loves coming to Spain because it is a place where there is so much tolerance and a blind eye is turned to so many things. Would the same people like to live here every day with all of this going on ? I guess not. So many people that live here complain about the tourist masses but I do not think this behaviour is limited to the tourists. The locals also take the law into their own hands and enjoy the liberties when they can.
Taking the law into their own hands...
These include :
Illegal Hawking 500 Euro fine. Hawkers are everywhere !
Sexual Services 3000 Euros fine. Eastern European prostitutes sit on plastic chairs every hundred metres on highways ! African women grab men by the arm and bully them into sex on La Rambla and other places in the city. I have even had an aggressive attack by an African hooker. I had to fight this woman to get her off my arm.
Consuming Alcohol in Public Spaces 1500 Euros fine. Tourist and locals sit or walk in the street with drinks in their hands. Pakistani vendors walk around selling cans of beer in the streets and on beaches.
Urinating in Public 1500 Euros fine. There are open air toilets in certain places in the city (for men only). I have also seen many men just unzipping in a corner or alongside a tree or in front of the shore.
Skateboarding and cycling outside assigned areas. 1500 Euros fine. The city has special cycling paths and places for skaters all over but one is always having to watch out for bikes and skateboards which come out of nowhere and almost knock you down.
Graffiti and defacement 3000 Euros fine. Graffiti is everywhere. No enforcement...
Gambling 3000 Euros fine. Groups of organised Russian criminals run "gambling games" on La Rambla and target tourists who think they can easily turn 50 euros into 100 or 400 into 800. Double your money! Once your money is in their hands it does not matter if you win or lose, you will not see any of it again. They become aggressive and intimidate you. I have seen some innocent yet foolish tourists lose lots of money with this one. Some tourists even said they would call the police. The men just pack up the game and dash off to safety with their takings.
I was shocked to see how many things are punishable but which actually go unnoticed or unenforced. I think that perhaps the rest of the world loves coming to Spain because it is a place where there is so much tolerance and a blind eye is turned to so many things. Would the same people like to live here every day with all of this going on ? I guess not. So many people that live here complain about the tourist masses but I do not think this behaviour is limited to the tourists. The locals also take the law into their own hands and enjoy the liberties when they can.
Taking the law into their own hands...
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