Why is Ireland so dangerous

sean306

jonny72 wrote: »

If any of you have been to relatively 'normal' European countries, Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland, etc.. I think you'll notice there are hardly any homegrown vicious scumbags in these countries..

Why are there so many of them in Ireland? I've been beaten up twice, chased, and I consider getting off lightly. My friend just had his face half ripped off by a pack of scumbags, one of whom had just been released on bail and was out attacking people a few days later.

Most of us just shrug and seem to think its normal, its the same in Scotland, Wales and England too.. but just cross the channel.. and the situation completely and utterly changes.

Our prison system is ineffective

The countrys you mention are Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland, .. All perfect countries... Where alcohol abuse is not near as bad as here in Ireland... Question answered

southsiderosie

lightening wrote: »

I have lived abroad dude. You do what every Irish person does when they go abroad, justify it by talking your country down, I did it too. The thread is named "why is Ireland so dangerous" It's not, according to the World Health Organisation it's the safest country in Europe.

I'm not Irish but have lived in both continental Europe and Ireland, and while the crime statistics for Ireland may be low, the level of thuggish-ness in Dublin city center seems relatively high. It's particularly striking because a) most European governments put more police resources in the city core and b) you generally do not see people engaged in screaming matches, fights, or using drugs in broad daylight along the Champs Elysees or the Prado; the same cannot be said for O'Connell street.

This is not to say that there isn't crime or unsavory activity in other European cities - Calle Montera is well known in the Madrid city center for prostitution, and my wallet is more likely to be stolen in Barcelona or Naples than anywhere else in Europe - but rather to say that there seems to be a level of complacency on the part of both the police and the public when it comes to "yob-ishness" in the city center of Dublin that doesn't seem to exist in other European capital cities.

lightening

southsiderosie wrote: »

or using drugs in broad daylight along the Champs Elysees

I have seen prostitutes inject on the banks of the Seine!! Yeah, agree with you there, that yobbish element is there in Dublin and a lot of small towns around Ireland. Not nice.

masteroftherealm

Justind wrote: »

No it doesn't. This is my point: you're generalising too much.

So my years of living in these places in null and void cause you say so?

You say you've lived in Israel; tell me with an honest face that you have seen the thuggishness of Dublin around Hayarakon, as opposed to St Stephens Green...

Greece has a violence problem, probably comparable to Dublin, if not slighly worse.

Aus, never been there wont comment.

Denmark, family is from there, father was appauled when he moved to Dublin in the Early Nineties.

Sweden... Your honestly telling me that you feel as safe in Dublin as in Malmo or Stockholm...

sean306 wrote: »

The countrys you mention are Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland, .. All perfect countries... Where alcohol abuse is not near as bad as here in Ireland... Question answered

No alcohol abuse problem in Scandinavia? Erm... need to read up on that there my friend....

masteroftherealm

lightening wrote: »

I have seen prostitutes inject on the banks of the Seine!! Yeah, agree with you there, that yobbish element is there in Dublin and a lot of small towns around Ireland. Not nice.

I lived in the Bois for 2 years, considered the roughest and most dangerous area to travel through in central Paris, never got harassed once.
They may shoot up quietly on the banks, but they wont then put that needle to your neck and demand your wallet. Thats the kind of difference I'm taking about.
I'm not arguing with the actual crime statistics Im saying that the crime is more in your face, its more yobbish, more thuggish, more... (Gonna hate using this word) uncivilised crime....

kravmaga

jonny72 wrote: »

If any of you have been to relatively 'normal' European countries, Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland, etc.. I think you'll notice there are hardly any homegrown vicious scumbags in these countries..

Why are there so many of them in Ireland? I've been beaten up twice, chased, and I consider getting off lightly. My friend just had his face half ripped off by a pack of scumbags, one of whom had just been released on bail and was out attacking people a few days later.

Most of us just shrug and seem to think its normal, its the same in Scotland, Wales and England too.. but just cross the channel.. and the situation completely and utterly changes.

Our prison system is ineffective

You cant generalise OP.
How do you know these countries mentioned have less or more criminals.

I have never been attacked as you say above but I am over 6ft and have self defence skills.
However I have been a victim of crime but that was against property.

Every country has good and bad. Its true we dont have a correctional system like the US but we dont have th emoney either to be building Supermax prisons either.

kravmaga

jonny72 wrote: »

In Dublin the crime/vandalism/harassment is very visible and mostly goes unreported. I am saying you are much more likely to get beaten up/harrassed in Dublin than you are in Brussels, or Madrid, etc

Its common knowledge in Italy than Naples is a much dodgier place than say Florence. Ireland is a much dodgier place than a lot of European countries like Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, etc.

I told my friend this, she came over for three days and on the first day in Dublin, walking down grafton street, we saw 2 kids with a huge big bolt cutters nicking bikes.. she'd never seen anything like that in her life before.. did I report that crime? nope, did anyone? nope. We just block it all out. Just like I did when I lived here. Live abroad, then you realise.

@OP Dude........do a self defence course if you feel harrassed.

Take a look at Kravmaga Ireland , self defence street fighting skills......

http://www.kravmagaireland.com/?gclid=CKPSldu6gpwCFcgSzAodclwv3Q

Take action and do something about it.... dont put up with it

jonny72

blueeyedboy wrote: »

@OP Dude........do a self defence course if you feel harrassed.

Take a look at Kravmaga Ireland , self defence street fighting skills......

http://www.kravmagaireland.com/?gclid=CKPSldu6gpwCFcgSzAodclwv3Q

Take action and do something about it.... dont put up with it

I don't really need to, I don't live in Dublin anymore..

My friend, big guy, into MMA got jumped on by 3 lads for no reason, nothing really coulda saved him in that situation. They then threatened to burn his house down if he told the cops. I won't hear a story like that over here trust me.

starbelgrade

jonny72 wrote: »

I don't really need to, I don't live in Dublin anymore..

My friend, big guy, into MMA got jumped on by 3 lads for no reason, nothing really coulda saved him in that situation. They then threatened to burn his house down if he told the cops. I won't hear a story like that over here trust me.

See no evil, hear no evil...

Herbal Deity

masteroftherealm wrote: »

Because those of us who have LIVED in these countries haven't seen it, have had no exposure to it, have not had to deal with the same crap as Dublin has.

I have LIVED in Dublin for the last 20 years (my lifespan), and I have never experienced anything like what you're talking about...

starbelgrade

Herbal Deity wrote: »

I have LIVED in Dublin for the last 20 years (my lifespan), and I have never experienced anything like what you're talking about...

I lived in Dublin for around 15 years & never once ran into trouble with anyone - 5 years in Spain & a few more in Holland & Italy, all without any trouble. That is not to say that any of these places are without their problems of muggings or violence.

I hate to say it, but some people look like they easier targets than others & some people are not as streetwise as others & some even look like they could be a challenge worth taking on (for the "buzz") and these are the ones who make up the statistics at the end of the day.

CiaranC

Lived for 25 years in Dublin, surrounded by what Boards.ie brands as "scumbags" (i.e. the working class), never had a moments trouble.

anonymous_joe

southsiderosie wrote: »

I'm not Irish but have lived in both continental Europe and Ireland, and while the crime statistics for Ireland may be low, the level of thuggish-ness in Dublin city center seems relatively high. It's particularly striking because a) most European governments put more police resources in the city core and b) you generally do not see people engaged in screaming matches, fights, or using drugs in broad daylight along the Champs Elysees or the Prado; the same cannot be said for O'Connell street.

This is not to say that there isn't crime or unsavory activity in other European cities - Calle Montera is well known in the Madrid city center for prostitution, and my wallet is more likely to be stolen in Barcelona or Naples than anywhere else in Europe - but rather to say that there seems to be a level of complacency on the part of both the police and the public when it comes to "yob-ishness" in the city center of Dublin that doesn't seem to exist in other European capital cities.

The reason you never see scumbaggery in the centre of Paris (as an example) is because the gendarmerie keep poor people very far out of the city in god forsaken banlieues that resemble one of Danté's circles of hell.

ArseBurger

TokenWhite wrote: »

but like everywhere else it has its scumbag element and they tend to originate from within certain disadvantaged areas

Trust me, there are plenty of complete scum that come from 'advantaged' backgrounds/areas..

Similarly, there are plenty of successful and completely normal people that come from 'disadvantaged' backgrounds/areas.

OldJay

masteroftherealm wrote: »

So my years of living in these places in null and void cause you say so?

If you have lived in three cities of most countries then you'd be qualifying what you claim. I don't think you have done and therefore don't.

masteroftherealm wrote: »

You say you've lived in Israel; tell me with an honest face that you have seen the thuggishness of Dublin around Hayarakon, as opposed to St Stephens Green...

If you think there are no muggings in Yarkon, you are deluded. Shapira and Florentin (where I lived) are no safer than a city area in Dublin on a weekend at closing time. Tel Aviv sentrum at weekends is absolutely mental.
There ya go. With an honest face.

masteroftherealm wrote: »

Greece has a violence problem, probably comparable to Dublin, if not slighly worse

Yes, Athens in particular.

masteroftherealm wrote: »

Denmark, family is from there, father was appauled when he moved to Dublin in the Early Nineties

Is he from Copenhagen? Isn't the early nineties erm . . . not now? Has he been to Copenhagen around midnight on a weekend night in summer?

masteroftherealm wrote: »

Sweden... Your honestly telling me that you feel as safe in Dublin as in Malmo or Stockholm...

Yes. Again, if you think there are no muggings, rapes or ruckus' going on in either of these cities, you are simply in denial.

inforfun

I dont know what it is but for some reason i feel safer here than in the city i was born and have lived for 30+ years.
Living in Dublin now for 8 years and i have walked through, what peopel consider, very dodgy areas in the middle of the night without a problem.
In those 8 years no one attacked me, no one robbed me.
In my own country i have never been robbed either but sure as hell i ended up in a few too many fights, alcohol fused or not.

I also think that some people "attract" the attention from scumbags. I know people who have been mugged 3 or 4 times in a short period.
I never look down to the ground when some dodgy characters are coming towards me, or cross the street unless i need to be at that side of the street. And i guess being 6'2'' doesnt hurt either.

What doesnt help in dublin in my opinion, is that the place looks to be /has been built with an idea of "lets built a really nice neighbourhood next to that scumbag area, so the scumbag area will be pulling themselves out of the misery when they see how life can be if you are good people."
I dont think that really works. It is like throwing some lambs in a lioncage and expect the lions to turn into cuddly animal. They wont, they will eat the lambs.

jonny72

CiaranC wrote: »

Lived for 25 years in Dublin, surrounded by what Boards.ie brands as "scumbags" (i.e. the working class), never had a moments trouble.

I find that incredibly hard to believe, well just from my own point of view. I do believe some people are more prone to hassle than others but thats just crazy, 25 years and nothing?

The list of stuff that has just happened to me is very long (Bray, various places in Dublin, Limerick, public transport in general), but it has happened to my friends too, cars stolen and burnt out, beaten up, etc, etc and on and on.

Maybe if you haven't had any bad experiences yourself, surely you've witnessed things? The more I read on this thread and the experience I've had in conversations, the more I think that Irish and UK people just seem to completely block out all the awful behaviour, vandalism, etc they witness all the time and just shrug and say its normal, when it completely isn't normal, not when you move to a decent country on the continent where it barely exists.

I would like to say that I am talking mainly of the motiveless random everyday threat rather than a hardcore criminal element (which most countries have)

OldJay

jonny72 wrote: »

The more I read on this thread and the experience I've had in conversations, the more I think that Irish and UK people just seem to completely block out all the awful behaviour, vandalism, etc they witness all the time and just shrug and say its normal, when it completely isn't normal, not when you move to a decent country on the continent where it barely exists

Another generalism: "on the continent where it barely exists".
Nobody is blocking anything. There is plenty of poop going on here (see Broombridge train station for example) but . . . there is plenty elsewhere too.
To say that European cities are a wholesome, clean and a vandal, rapist, thief, mugger-free utopia in comparison is utterly ridiculous.
I've given my own examples as to why I think this and thats all anyone can do. Anything else is armchair, baseless cherry-picking.

jonny72

Justind wrote: »

Another generalism: "on the continent where it barely exists".
Nobody is blocking anything. There is plenty of poop going on here (see Broombridge train station for example) but . . . there is plenty elsewhere too.
To say that European cities are a wholesome, clean and a vandal, rapist, thief, mugger-free utopia in comparison is utterly ridiculous.
I've given my own examples as to why I think this and thats all anyone can do. Anything else is armchair, baseless cherry-picking.

True, its a case of example, generalisations and anecdotes. All I can say, that based on my own experiences, and those of my friends and colleagues, that Ireland Scotland Wales and moreso England have a greater level of low-level thuggishness than their European counterparts (with a few exceptions, Eastern Europe, perhaps Greece, etc)

Having worked in Benidorm in Spain, I can also generalise that the average UK holidaymaker is much more likely to vandalise/fight/be abusive/etc than the average Scandinavian holidaymaker .. by an order of magnitude.

OldJay

jonny72 wrote: »

Having worked in Benidorm in Spain, I can also generalise that the average UK holidaymaker is much more likely to vandalise/fight/be abusive/etc than the average Scandinavian holidaymaker .. by an order of magnitude.

Having lived in one of the three Scandinavian countries for five years, I can tell you that the high incident of rape particularly during the Russ season or the height of summer does not make good reading or viewing in the news.

monosharp

Right lads two examples that happened recently.

Was out in a busy centre area at 1am in a bar. Left the place and started looking for a taxi. There was a building site in the middle of this busy city central area, bars, nightclubs, restaurants all around and was this building site fenced off ? Was it ****. The sidepath was half sand, a large bail of footpath bricks was sitting by the side of the road. An excavator and dump truck sitting there idle with no window 'armour'.

If that was in Ireland, well, need I explain.

Secondly theres a large building close to my home. Its a kind of shopping centre for rent, basically its a large 5 storey building and once a month sellers rent the place fill it up and sell stuff for about a week. The rest of the time its usually empty. (sellers move around the place)

This building is in the kind of suburbs between two main cities, there are bars and a couple of nightclubs close. And they leave the doors open, and I mean open as in wide open not unlocked, when there is no stuff there. The place is covered with windows, the doors are windows etc.

I couldn't believe this when I saw it. There was no security guard, no CCTV, no nothing. Drunks regularly (including me) walk through the place on their way home for a shortcut.

And not once have I ever seen a window broken or any kind of acting the bollox going on inside it.

I also do not live in what would be considered a poor area.

I asked people why any of the windows haven't been smashed. The answer I got back; "Why would anyone break them ?" and that simple answer explained it all.

Put that building in Dublin, Limerick, Sligo, Waterford, Cork etc and it wouldn't last a night.

I remember I used to live in Dublin and in Sligo and near my home almost every telephone box had all its glass shattered. They replaced it and the next night it was broken again.

That wouldn't happen here because people don't have that yobbish idiot thug culture that us and the Brits do.

Terrontress

monosharp wrote: »

Right lads two examples that happened recently.

Was out in a busy centre area at 1am in a bar. Left the place and started looking for a taxi. There was a building site in the middle of this busy city central area, bars, nightclubs, restaurants all around and was this building site fenced off ? Was it ****. The sidepath was half sand, a large bail of footpath bricks was sitting by the side of the road. An excavator and dump truck sitting there idle with no window 'armour'.

If that was in Ireland, well, need I explain.

Secondly theres a large building close to my home. Its a kind of shopping centre for rent, basically its a large 5 storey building and once a month sellers rent the place fill it up and sell stuff for about a week. The rest of the time its usually empty. (sellers move around the place)

This building is in the kind of suburbs between two main cities, there are bars and a couple of nightclubs close. And they leave the doors open, and I mean open as in wide open not unlocked, when there is no stuff there. The place is covered with windows, the doors are windows etc.

I couldn't believe this when I saw it. There was no security guard, no CCTV, no nothing. Drunks regularly (including me) walk through the place on their way home for a shortcut.

And not once have I ever seen a window broken or any kind of acting the bollox going on inside it.

I also do not live in what would be considered a poor area.

I asked people why any of the windows haven't been smashed. The answer I got back; "Why would anyone break them ?" and that simple answer explained it all.

Put that building in Dublin, Limerick, Sligo, Waterford, Cork etc and it wouldn't last a night.

I remember I used to live in Dublin and in Sligo and near my home almost every telephone box had all its glass shattered. They replaced it and the next night it was broken again.

That wouldn't happen here because people don't have that yobbish idiot thug culture that us and the Brits do.

It's funny as well that we are probably less civilised than our European neighbours as a result of the environment we have grown up in, even though we have no intention of doing any of the thuggish things we expect to happen.

I remember being in Germany and seeing cigarette vending machines on every corner and asking a German why people don't just smash them off the wall and steal the cigarettes and money. I would never do such a thing but he questioned why I would think about it. He thought I come from a wild place.

Also in Germany where bus stops have screens to tell you when the next one will come, I wondered why nobody smashes them down.

What would drive anyone to do it? To go to the effort and demolish a public amenity. Lift a seat and swing it about. What do they get out of it? Nothing other than making others' lives a misery, which takes them lots of effort. Yet you can be sure it would happen in Dublin, Belfast or London. Go to Germany and the people I know would be unsure why someone would want to.



As regards the 5-10 fights a night thing, the fights weren't important!, it's the fact he is saying the Gardai will do nothing.

I could state that if there were to be a terrorist fly a plane in to Liberty Hall that the Gardai and Fire Brigade would be unprepared. I wouldn't have to state the last time I'd seen a terrorist do it!

To back up the statement, Gardai reaction to fights, which we all agree go on, is what is needed. Not the last time that 5-10 fights happened.

OldJay

Terrontress wrote: »

Also in Germany where bus stops have screens to tell you when the next one will come, I wondered why nobody smashes them down

Yes, just like the LUAS stops they seem to do well. The bicycle scheme in Dublin that people thought wouldn't work is going a treat.

Germany being a country that never has a garbage bin through a shop window, a taxi driver beaten up or historical buildings vandalised or graffiti scrawled over them? No stores have ever been vandalised on the day of a soccer match or 7-Elevens violently robbed.

See? Generalisms. Conveniently so.

monosharp

Justind wrote: »

Yes, just like the LUAS stops they seem to do well.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0216/1233867938518.html wrote:

EXTRA SECURITY staff have been deployed on Dublin’s two Luas lines in recent months because of an increase in crime and disorderly behaviour, including pickpocketing, vandalism and begging.

Veolia, the company which operates Luas, has told Dublin City Council’s transport committee that the Red and Green lines have developed their own distinct problems.

Between five and 10 incidents of pickpocketing are reported each day on the Red line, which runs from Connolly station to Tallaght. These crimes are concentrated at Heuston station, and the stretch of line between Heuston and Connolly, which runs through the north of the city centre.

The Heuston to the Red Cow Roundabout section of the line has the greatest problem, with youths engaged in anti-social behaviour such as vandalism, pulling the emergency cord, and intimidating passengers.

The bicycle scheme in Dublin that people thought wouldn't work is going a treat.

Because they are too much bother to vandalise ?

Germany being a country that never has a garbage bin through a shop window, a taxi driver beaten up or historical buildings vandalised or graffiti scrawled over them? No stores have ever been vandalised on the day of a soccer match or 7-Elevens violently robbed.

See? Generalisms. Conveniently so.

Have you lived abroad ? How about answering my two previous examples ? Am I wrong ?

Terrontress

Also, each Luas stop has a lot of CCTV whereas bus stops do not. Bus stops in Dublin tend to have the timetables ripped off and the frame for them show signs of being burnt with a lighter. And if you go on to the Commuting & Transport board, you can read all about people having their clothes destroyed as someone has gone to the effort of smearing excrement over the bikes!

There is no doubt whatsoever that city dwellers in Dublin are less civilised than many other European capitals.

jonny72

monosharp wrote: »

Right lads two examples that happened recently.

Was out in a busy centre area at 1am in a bar. Left the place and started looking for a taxi. There was a building site in the middle of this busy city central area, bars, nightclubs, restaurants all around and was this building site fenced off ? Was it ****. The sidepath was half sand, a large bail of footpath bricks was sitting by the side of the road. An excavator and dump truck sitting there idle with no window 'armour'.

I remember I used to live in Dublin and in Sligo and near my home almost every telephone box had all its glass shattered. They replaced it and the next night it was broken again.

That wouldn't happen here because people don't have that yobbish idiot thug culture that us and the Brits do.

Thats nothing, they have 24 hour machines that dispense beer here.. and incredibly they aren't abused, or vandalised, or smashed up. You can sit in a park and drink, any park in the city, day or night and the only hassle you will get is a homeless guy asking for a smoke.. in fact you can walk down the streets drinking a beer, but I hardly ever see anyone doing it. When bikes are locked against railings here I never see one with its spokes kicked in.

Ironically, the only people who visibly cause trouble here are the immigrants, mainly Moroccans (nothing against them, I have a few Moroccan friends, very sound guys) who the locals are terrified of.

I am sure there is still a normal amount of crime here, but I know I can walk home safely at night after a few drinks without a bunch of scumbags randomly and for no reason attacking me, breaking my nose, busting up my face and threatening to burn my effing house down.

Another huge wild generalisation, is, of all the Irish I've met here, I've never met one who made the observation and said wow this place is just as safe as Ireland.

diverdriver

Interesting thread, I do think jonny that part of the problem is where you live and where you hang out. I for example lived in Dublin for most of life and hardly ever saw street fights, was never mugged and hardly ever felt very unsafe. However I was careful and despite being rather mild mannered and harmless. But I have been accused of being a Garda which might explain it. However I have seen incidents. But the only big fight I witnessed was in Galway, complete with Police, bouncers and scumbags which is odd as Galway is considered a safe city, which it is by and large.

Certain people here are in denial about it. There is a lot of low level thuggery and petty vandalism here which you really don't get in other cities around the world. At least outside the third world.

Terrontress and monosharp have hit the nail on the head. I remember being amazed at vending machines in the street in America. Everything that can be stolen is taken, if it can't it's vandalised. This is consistent throughout Ireland not just Dublin. Take a look the next time at how many shop fronts have cracked window. I think every car, I've had has been kicked or scratched by some scumbag. My wife's car had the same treatment. In England and elsewhere you could leave a car or bike parked in the street with a cover on it. Try that anywhere in Ireland, goodbye cover. On that note, how often do you see motorcycles parked in the street outside someone's house. Rarely because it will be gone in days or knocked over or burned. The list goes on an on.

It's not just low lifes from bad areas too. Young lads even from good areas engage in this kind of thing. Like the well spoken middle class drunken thirteen year old who tried to damage my brother's car.

Of course there is always a certain class of people for whom stealing and general mayhem is a way of life. Quite a lot of petty thieving is down to them. Ask anyone working in a shop or an off licence.

There is just this persistent lack of respect for everything. In my own case, for some reason the local kids and teenagers and now lads with cars always seem to gather at my gate, sitting on the pillars and the wall and stuffing their coke bottles and crisp packets into my hedge. Luckily it's not beer bottles. The day it is, is when the Police get a call. I've been polite, I've shouted at them. They always move on but drift back another time. They apparently have no grasp of the idea that their presense is a nuisance and intimidating to callers to my house.

That to me sums it up, these kids aren't actually troublemakers or drunks. But they're basically inconsiderate and thoughtless.

Comparision to other countries is pointless, getting all defensive and saying there are bad areas all over the place is missing the point. This people of this country have little or no civic pride, are always willing to turn a blind eye to petty vandalism, think it's normal even. You can't just blame the Gardai. But they are part of the problem. In Dublin there are several places where drug dealers and junkies gather quite openly. You see them as you drive or walk past. They're featured on TV and mentioned in the papers. Where are the police? These people should be harrassed by uniformed officers until they go and then harassed again when they find somewhere else. Don't tell me for one minute that the police are so overstretched that they can't police blatant lawbreaking in broad daylight?

The biggest problem is that most of us ordinary tolerate people it, some even take part. That has to stop and our children trained to respect themselves and the people and property around them. But don't hold your breath on that one.

Herbal Deity

monosharp wrote: »

I remember I used to live in Dublin and in Sligo and near my home almost every telephone box had all its glass shattered. They replaced it and the next night it was broken again.

Where I live in Dublin, no such vandalism seems to go on. The odd bus shelter has been smashed once or twice IIRC, but nothing to suggest that my area is dangerous.

masteroftherealm

Justind wrote: »

If you have lived in three cities of most countries then you'd be qualifying what you claim. I don't think you have done and therefore don't.


If you think there are no muggings in Yarkon, you are deluded. Shapira and Florentin (where I lived) are no safer than a city area in Dublin on a weekend at closing time. Tel Aviv sentrum at weekends is absolutely mental.
There ya go. With an honest face.


Yes, Athens in particular.


Is he from Copenhagen? Isn't the early nineties erm . . . not now? Has he been to Copenhagen around midnight on a weekend night in summer?


Yes. Again, if you think there are no muggings, rapes or ruckus' going on in either of these cities, you are simply in denial.

1. I honestly don't believe that you have lived in Israel then, either that or you walked around in some sort of haze. Sorry I don't believe or agree with your opinion.

2. My Father was from Copenhagen yes, and agrees with me and believes its gotten worse in last 10 years. And yes I have been our in Copen well after midnight and never had a single worry.

3. I don't think their not happening, but I do KNOW that they're a lot safer cities than Dublin.

shoegirl

Ireland as a small country with a lot of small urban populations is far less ghettoized than bigger countries.

That said, a lot of continental European cities have a) extensive crime networks, much of it centering in areas where tourists visit and b) hefty no-go areas where generally tourists are well diverted away from.

The only big difference is that the UK and Ireland do have a huge level of non-theft related crime - random violence, drunk and disorderly aggression. Some of it is to do with the way in which it is policed (for example look at any local paper lately and there appears to be a plague of relatively minor cannabis possession cases involving no other crimes) and some of it is down to public binge-drinking cultures in the UK and Ireland.

PS Continentals drink as much as we do, they just tend not to do it in public places that spill out into fracas on the street with strangers. If you booze too much in your own back yard, chances are you'll end up fighting with yourself.