pick pockets in Rome
 

I am now a little nervous about the many mentions of pick pockets in Rome. I will be traveling alone(single female) and will walk from the main train station to my hotel about 15 minutes away with a rolling suitcase. Hotel Centro- Should I expect a bump and run or will anyone try to seriously grab my suitcase out of my hand?

Pick pockets are everywhere. Be sure you have your valuables in a safe place on your person so thieves cannot grab them. Walk with confidence and don't look like a tourist!

***don't look like a tourist!***
Pry tell us exactly how do you do that?

Yes -- definitely avoid looking like a tourist . . . <i>dragging a suitcase</i>??? :? Just how does one manage that?

blaneturner: Pickpockets don't want your suitcase -- they want your €€/$$/credit cards. If you are nervous use a money belt -- at least for the walk to from the station to your hotel.

I've spent many hours lurking around Termini train station - as a rail nut watching trains and inside the station may be the biggest problem - folks coming up and asking questions or showing you some piece of paper whilst their cohorts are pickpocketing you - but if you know there is a problem then the problem is largely avoidable - do as janis says carry all valuables in a secure money belt that goes under your clothes in front - not a thing around you neck that could be wrenched off in the worst scenario.

Outside the station there is at times a seedy crowd but that does not mean they are all out to get you. Just keep walking at a steady pace and just ignore anyone coming up to you for anything.

Though pickpockets are a bane of the station and area it is unlikely to happen - especially if you know there is a problem.

Put angst to rest - in hours of lurking around the station I've never had a problem but I did avoid talking to once a group of several immigrant types who came to me when I was reading the posted timetable and asked me to help them - they may have been sincere or they could have been thieves working in a group with the old distraction and pickpocket routine.

There was a recent Fodor's thread talking about real problems inside Termini station - try to track it down.

Frankly as a woman alone there is no way I would haul my luggage through the streets like that - but just hop a cab. They are cheap in Rome and you aren;t going that far. (Also don;t know exactly where the hotel is - but have you dealt the Roman traffic before - most intersections dont have traffic lights.)

For other days just be sure everything in your purse or daypack (worn cross body) is secure. And NEVER put it down anywhere - not even in public rooms of your hotel.

Yes to getting a cab instead. Between following directions, traffic, and cobblestones, I just wouldn't want to bother with dragging even a small rolling suitcase when a cab is easy to find and not that expensive.

Your hotel is only 700 meters (maybe 10 blocks) from Termini, and it probably wouldn't take more than 10 minutes to walk there. But I also wouldn't want to pull a suitcase for several blocks, and I admit I don't pinch euros when I travel.

Rome's not super dangerous or anything and a 15 minute walk should be doable but I don't think that's the best idea after dark. Not every guy lurking out there is a nice dude who wants to help you with your bag at night and that would be a bad time to have your hands full. If you do it wear a moneybelt anyway. Taxis are cheap and that would be a way better option than having to drag your bag down possibly narrow crowded streets or through Rome traffic. I don't know where your hotel is exactly but I'm sure there's a bus tram or train that runs to it from Termini if it's only a 15 min walk? That's cheap and safe.

I wish people would stop equating "immigrant types" as suspect thieves on Fodor's. Rome has a large and active population of native Italian thieves, including pickpockets and bag snatchers and "helpers", plus Italian overlords and corrupt police who control the streets of Rome and the train station areas and tourist sites.

Furthermore, most "Fodorites" have no real idea who looks "Italian" and who doesn't. They are ready to identify anyone who behaves like a potential pickpockets as a non-Italian. It's circular prejudice.

People on Fodor's talk and post as if this kind of language had no real negative consequences to real live innocent human beings. Maybe they should blather less on the internet and read a few more books of 20th c. European history, and what followed from accusations of most gypsy and Jews being thieves and running pickpocketing gangs.

Anybody traveling in a situation new to them anywhere in the world, where they don't speak the language or know their way around is well advised to resist the urge to respond to strangers, no matter what they look like to you, and to keep all valuables very secure. And try to keep an open mind as well as open eyes about all the immigrants you'll be seeing in European train stations these days. Many of them -- probably most of them -- are finer people then you'll encounter in the most "respectable" meeting places of Europe.

The Hotel Centro looks to be no more than a 5 minute walk from Termini, assuming no mobility problems. I'd be embarrassed to take a cab that short a distance. And although there may be some unsavory types hanging around the train station, I've always felt perfectly safe in that area. Just use common sense, and keep walking.

Huh? One poster used the term "immigrants" and that equates to "most Fodorites". That a jump.

zeppole/sl: Since most Fodorites are beneath contempt, it must be hard for you to hang around.

I've been to Rome at least 20 times. The first time, I got lost and a 'helpful native' kept wanting to carry my suitcase for me. I declined and he left me alone.

If you're arriving during daylight, you really have nothing to worry about as long as you use common sense. If it's dark, I still feel you'll be okay. The Termini area gets bad comments here because, for the most part, it's not as elegant as many other areas; but, it's really no worse than that around the Gare du Nord in Paris or Victoria Station in London.

It's really a short walk and if you stay on the very well lit streets, I don't think you have anything to be concerned about.

As mentioned way earlier on this tread, thieves don't want to steal your clothing/suitcase.

It's cash, iPhones, etc. that would be the target. Just have your purse/valuables secured someone on your person (cross-body bag, money belt, whatever) while you're in transit in public.

Or take the suggestion of grabbing a taxi even though it's only a short distance, if you are nervous about this.

Thank you all for the great tips. I leave next month and will let you all know how I managed. I appreciate the time you took to respond. Thanks again, Blaneturner

"One poster used the term "immigrants" "

Interesting that the one poster who HAS come close to equating "immigrants" with thieves rarely loses an opportunity to attack those he thinks support Britain's Conservative party in general or Margaret Thatcher in particular.

Doesn't, of course, prove that all pseudo-liberals are bigots. But it does indicate just what repulsive foundations much opposition to realistic politics is built on.

Having traveled in Italy since 1980 and every year since 2005, I've witnessed many tourists being accosted by individuals and groups of thieves. Now, since we are in our late 60's we seem to be more of a target, so we try to extra aware of our surroundings. Incidentally, we've stopped using Bus #64 to go to the Vatican because it's nickname is the "Pickpocket Express."

In May, 2014 three well dressed young men, about 10-12 years old, tried to do the "stall, bump, and dip" routine on me at the Ottaviano Metro station. Fortunately, they were unsuccessful and they would have only gotten one day's spending money.

In July, 2009 a woman tried to pick my pocket on the metro going to the Colosseum and I caught her and beat her with a water bottle. She was unsuccessful.

As a rule of thumb, I wear a money belt in the big cities and only carry one day's cash in a pocket. If a thief is successful, that person will only have some money and our vacation will not be ruined.

For the last two years we've used limo services to meet and/or take us to the airport, and they are worth every euro. We do not need to drag the luggage very far using this strategy; door to door service.

The thieves present the bank robber Willie Sutton's philosophy toward thievery. When asked why he robbed banks, Willie is alleged to have responded, "That's where they keep the money." Well, the pickpockets know tourists have valuable items such as cash, credit cards, cameras, cell phones, etc. Plus, if they are caught it's unlikely the tourist will return to press charges.

Enjoy your travels, but remain alert.

Buon viaggio,

I used immigrant types because much of the problem is with illegal and legal immigrants who have no money, may be drug addicts or whatever - yes it is not PC to say to say watch out for immigrant types coming up to you but I guess non-ethnic Italians seem to IME be the bulk of street theft - the 'immigrant types' who came up to me looked like Albanians just off the boat - sorry for offending righteous flanner or others.

same with using Gypsy or Romani girls who are a plague of Paris right now - working in pairs - if they come up to me with a petition to sign I sign off right away.

Reality is reality and best to warn folks to the real situation. Ain't the immigrants' fault that they are allowed into a country where they have no jobs or much income and have to resort to such activities.

Fortress Britannia has not had to grapple with many illegal aliens like much of Europe.

"Ain't the immigrants fault that they are allowed into a country where they have no jobs..." ??? Lots of them haven't been "allowed" in, they just turn up. And of course it's their "fault", they chose to go there, nobody forced them to.

By allowed I meant tolerated once there - a simple check of documents that I believe Europeans must carry would show they are illegal - there are whole camps of illegals in various cities in Italy I understand - easier to spot them and give them the boot - better to assimilate them but France has learnt that that is pie in the sky.

We should kill them all before they reach our borders.
Or at least ask them to wear a distinctive sign on their clothing, so that we would know who they are and take necessary precautions.

A yellow star ?

pariswat - my French son just returned from a 5-week trip back home to France and his uncle seriously suggested that all refugees who are allowed in or somehow come in should have a chip inserted under their skin - like dogs do - and be kept track of that way - he seriously suggested that retired people be recruited to do the implanting!

so at least for some French your ideas are not far out.

Wow PalenQ, that's a pretty out there idea your son's uncle has!

No easy answer to the problem of illegal immigrants, many of them throw their documents away. I think some countries lack the political will to send them home or keep them in centres until they can be properly processed.

Italian friends have told me some towns are required to provide public housing for them, but yes, many of them end up in camps. We saw some of those outside Naples, I thought they were garbage dumps at first, it was bad.
Lots of the Italian ones end up working for the Mafia, all those ones you see selling the fake designer crap and going around selling socks and other little bits and pieces. They are apparently taken to a warehouse each day and given a sum of money and get to choose their stock. At the end of the day they have to pay back the money plus interest. I don't know how they survive and their own countries must be real hellholes for their European life to be better.

Pq
Your uncle is a vet from the LVF ?

flanner - read carefully raincitygirl's excellent take - now you know why I used the term immigrant types? Poor folks stuck in camps who turn to petty crime to survive.

Capiche?

Last year I traveled to Rome alone (I am female) and I walked from the train station to my hotel while rolling my suitcase behind me. It was about a 10 minute walk. I walked in a very brisk pace and I kept looking all around me as I walked. I was OK but if it makes you uncomfortable then of course take a cab.

Just to clarify PalenQ, by camps I meant make-shift shanty-town type camps, not official government sanctioned camps. Nobody is keeping them in there, what is keeping them in those living conditions is lack of money and probably lack of official paperwork.

Just to clarify, what I wrote above is that most "Fodorites" cannot distinguish an immigrant from a Italian (let alone an immigrant or refugee with documents) and I stand by that assertion. And it obvious from continuing to read the thread that most people do talk on Fodor's as if their bigotry posed no negative consequence to vulnerable people -- and when this is pointed out, those who point it out are attacked by regular posters, who are more concerned with their petty selves and grudges and being a "Fodorite" in good standing than they are with Europe or other people.

Just about everything PalenQ pigheadedly believes about Italy and Fortress Europe based on one or two conversations or experiences is nonsense, and bigoted nonsense at that.

Pickpockets on the street in Rome -- the subject of this thread, not refugee camps and shanty towns -- would not exist if Italians were not making money off it. If Italians were not making money on it, the problem would vanish overnight. Italians are responsible for the security of the Italian train stations, and they have plenty of resources to clean it up if they can find a reason to do that. To continue to talk vaguely about "immigrant-types" is -- well, not just stupid but evil (don't flatter yourself thinking you are being bravely "politically correct."

Janisj, yestravel, I'm not here for you. But I won't dispute that is very, very hard to read what I read on Fodor's from Fodorties, and not want to undo it, for the sake of other people. It is contemptible, and it's too bad you want to attack me relentlessly for pointing it out.

(You know, this travel website wouldn't be more informative for people traveling if I didn't post here. It would only be a more cozy place for a handful of people --- some of them quite mean and shallow -- who want the outlet for their egos.)

Sandra
Everyone is entitled to having his/her opinions.
Yours are also quite enteresting, even if I find some exxagerated (I don't follow your reasoning here for example).

We are not binary, and we cannot consider that one is always right or always wrong. (Albeit some think they are always right, I'll grant you that)

I kind of like PalenQ even if I like to tease him, and I've found him giving quite a few good pieces of advice (when it comes from his first hand experience, not from his uncle...).

Except on Bruxelles :-)

I have been to Rome several times and travelled as a woman alone. Whilst I would avoid dragging my suitcase anywhere- because I want to avoid looking like a tourist (which is quite easy to do and very achievable)- I have never felt unsafe in Rome and have never been pick pocketed...

Get yourself a good over the body bag which zips shut- and even better- with a zip that clips once its shut so you can rest assured no ones going to get their hand in there no matter how distracted you get. Mine is Pacsafe and its served me well for years of travel. Always have it around your body even when sitting down so it can't be quickly snapped up.

Don't carry a map on your way from the station to the hotel...or anywhere for that matter (use your phone and google maps its MUCH less obvious that your a traveler that way) and don't stop for anyone asking you "where your going" "where your from" ect ect -safe travel is common sense. Look confident and like you know where your going, keep your valuables close and zipped up-its always worked for me.

I often disagree with Sandralist, and she often disagrees with me, but I would never suggest that she should abandon these forums. She has an excellent in-depth knowledge of Italy and has been a very useful resource for people planning a visit here. I've seen some people posting here who do seem to be flaunting their sophistication, simultaneously spreading misinformation.

It's almost impossible not to look like a tourist. It doesn't even make sense to try, because there are over 12 million tourists in Rome every year, and only about 100 pickpockets. As long as you don't look like easy pickings, they'll find someone more distracted.

Just stay alert, walk purposefully, and try not to look rich. As others have said, thieves are not likely to want your suitcase. They mostly want cash and phones, even more than credit cards. Violent crime is very rare in Rome.

I am often in Rome alone, and walk around after dark. (Anyway, I don't see where Blaneturner said she was arriving after dark.) I just use my regular shoulder bag, but keep it towards the front in crowded places. I've never felt the need for a money belt in Rome, and even though I've been going there several times a year since 1994, I've never had anything stolen from me there.

Another, huh? "Attack me relentlessly" - not sure where that is coming from. Oh well, I hope the OP has gotten an answer to the question posted.

Just about everything PalenQ pigheadedly believes about Italy and Fortress Europe based on one or two conversations or experiences is nonsense, and bigoted nonsense at that.>

Um let's see over 50 visits to Europe, many of business over decades - I have more European travel overall than you do probably save for Italy perhaps. A collective several years spent in Europe - lived for three months at a time in France for a decade (when my French son was young) - you like to insult others without any basis really and then wonder why folks attack you - lose the persecution complex! -

Interesting that the one poster who HAS come close to equating "immigrants" with thieves rarely loses an opportunity to attack those he thinks support Britain's Conservative party in general or Margaret Thatcher in particular.
_____

I did not know Maggie was immigrant. And a dead one at that.

Just a heads up: We were on a tour in Rome with a university alumni group. Arrived at the hotel before the rooms were ready. Luggage left in a remote corner of the lobby (Don't remember if there were more secure arrangements). One of our group left $$ and passports in their (locked) suitcases. Yes, you guessed it, all gone.

If it's important to you, keep it safely on your person, or in a safe.

Well just to clarify, I will put my hand up as the one who got sidetracked by one of PalenQ's remarks. I do believe that there are Italian pickpockets and don't believe it is illegal immigrants for the most part that you have to watch out for. From what I have seen, the Africans seem to sell the knock off stuff and the little household items and the Bangladeshi's seem to sell the selfie sticks and sometimes goofy little toys. (some of them may well be there legally, but I bet most of them aren't)
I don't feel afraid of them, they are annoying occasionally but if you ignore them they go away. Mostly I feel sorry for them and wonder what their lives were like before to make this a better life.

There are Roma operating all over the place and if it is not PC to say so, well too bad. I am not saying all Roma do this but there are a significant number who do. Despite all my awareness I narrowly escaped being robbed in the Florence train station by a team of three..they were good, but not that good. And there are cops all over that train station, they just seem to turn a blind eye.

I feel perfectly safe in Europe to walk around with a regular handbag, taking the normal big city precautions etc. When friends ask for my advice I never want to scare them but just make them aware of what they may encounter.

mcheryl, that is too bad and I'm not being snarky but what in the world would possess someone to leave money and passports in a suitcase, locked or otherwise?