L.

I just returned from what would've been an amazing trip to europe if I hadn't had all of my vacation money and passport stolen while stowing my luggage ON the train from Rome to Florence. Although I immediately noticed what had happened and gave chase, these pickpockets were REALLY good and they got away. What made me angry was that when I reported the incident to the police, they just laughed and said in italian "stupid americans". When I picked the guy out of mug shots, they said "oh, he's really good"!Maybe I am stupid and nieve, but this is one american who will not be traveling to Italy again until the police do something about the rampant pickpocketing!

tim

Italian police would do no more than they are doing now, neither Paris police, Madrid police, etc. Any more than what the police of our city in the US doing about rampant car thefts in our city. It is up to us to take steps to reduce the chances of misfortune.

Money belt?

Respectfully, where was your money and passport when it was lifted?

Capo

I'm very sorry to hear about that but, along with what "Money Belt?" said, I'm a bit puzzled. Were your passport and money in your luggage? Were they on your person, and were lifted while you were busy stowing your luggage? If they were on your person, where did you have them? <BR><BR>I also think that Tim made an excellent analogy to rampant car thefts in U.S. cities. If you, for example, didn't lock your car, and it was stolen, I don't think American cops would call you stupid to your face, but they might behind your back (of course, if they presumed you didn't know Italian and they were speaking Italian, the Italian cops were, in a sense, saying this behind your back.)

underwear

A few years ago my mother sewed a special pocket on the inside of the three pairs of underwear I backpacked thru Europe with. Nobody got their hands on my Ass down my underwear without me knowing about it!

L.

Just to clarify, the money and the passport were in my purse on my person. I was in the process of stowing my luggage when the pickpocket grabbed one of my bags and started throwing it around. Another american lady started yelling at him to stop because he was breaking fragile items in HER bags. Regardless of the situation, I was nieve in thinking that because I was on the train that I was safe. If I ever visit Italy again, I am going to take M. Underwear's advice and sew myself some "special" underwear to hide my money.

Capo

Thanks for the clarification, L. Again, very sorry to hear about what happened to you but things like purses, and wallets in pockets, are just not safe when it comes to carrying valuables.

sorry

Sorry to hear of your misfortune, but it's a classic overstatement, when victimized by crime, to say that the crime is "rampant."<BR><BR>I've spent a lot of time in Rome and never been pickpocketed. Does that mean I'm justified in saying, "There's no pickpocketing in Rome"? Of course not.<BR><BR>I'd say the reaction of the Rome cops was about the same you'd find from New York cops.

Dee

Having been a witness to several crimes of this sort, I can say that the police don't do much. I'm not surprised to hear though that they would laugh behind your back. I don't have alot of faith in Italian police of any kind. And why sorry would compare the police in rome to the police in NYC is beyond me. apples to oranges.

xxx

Several years ago friends of mine were robbed of her purse -- cut from her shoulder in the Rome airport termninal as she clutched it to her luggage while her husband went to the ATM. They were surrounded by police with machine guns at the time. The police literally laughed the robbery off, saying it happens all the time. My friend's question was, if the armed police can't even stop a simple thief, what are they doing with their machine guns?

julie

We were assaulted in Portugal and the side of our rental car kicked in; drove to the town magistrate/police station, and they were totally indifferent. Said that they would fill out a report if we insisted, but it would be months before our case came up, and we could return then to defend our case. Moral: Just assume that this is part and parcel of the chances you take when you venture outside of your comfort zone, and forget it, I guess.

Joyce

Crime happens even when people are in their comfort zones. I am an American and often travel outside the country. The few times in my life I have been a crime victim have all been in the USA, in my home neighborhood.<BR><BR>Pick up any local USA newspaper any day of the week, and you will see how safe the USA is. I think most countries in Europe are relatively safe by comparison. <BR><BR><BR> <BR>

Tom

Joyce is right, of course, but I think that's why we get caught "unawares," so to speak. Americans are not generally used to watching for pickpockets - we figure if someone wants something we have, they'll pull a gun or a knife. Maybe since we figure we don't have to worry so much about violent crime in Europe we let our guard down.