November saw the first ever security forum in the Costa Blanca. The event, held at the Casa De Cultura in Orba, was hosted by a panel of experts from the special forces and security, and attended by the Mayor of Orba.
The intention of the meeting was to highlight the risks faced by people currently living on the Costa Blanca, and to suggest possible preventative measures.
The forum opened at 18.00 hrs to a full house. Ex-special forces member Michael O’Connell began by talking about the need make crime more risky for criminals, or at least make things look risky to them.
He went on to say that most crimes committed in this area are committed by opportunists rather than professionals, which, he continued, were easier to prevent.
The panel then went on to highlight a number of typical cases of crime on the Costa Blanca.
The first case cited happened in Moraira following a car accident after which the driver got out to have a word with the occupant of the other vehicle only to find on returning to his car found that its contents had been stolen.
The second type of situation has been repeated at petrol stations in both Moraira and Calpe. The contents of vehicles are stolen during the short time in which the driver has gone to pay for the fuel.
Case three involved a number of reports of contents being removed from vehicles during the time it took the victim to place rubbish in a recycling bin.
Case four involved an incident, again in Moraira, where a lady was in her car and a stranger had come to the driver’s side, with his hand on the window frame and had engaged the woman in conversation while his accomplice took her handbag. Unfortunately, in this case the lady contacted the police before informing her credit card company and her account was seriously depleted as a result.
The final case involved a car that had been stolen from a locked garage whilst the family were sleeping upstairs. It was believed that the family dog was sent to sleep with some kind of gas.
The meeting was then opened up for questions. The attendees said they were extremely worried about the use of gas and demanded more information, but the panel were unable to comment on due to the lack of information and expertise.
The panel then changed the direction of the meeting and suggested ways in which to help minimise the risks. These included securing property, using of prickly plants behind high walls and timers on lights and radios when leaving property unattended.
The audience also expressed their relief when they heard that violent crime is very rare on the Costa Blanca.
In conclusion, meeting organiser Pradeep Sharma said: “We realise there were a lot of issues in which we did not have the figures or expertise to answer. However the forum proved there is an interest and demand for more information on the subject of security. We are reviewing the situation and contacting the attendees for feedback. If there is enough interest we may look into holding another security forum in the future.”