Pickpockets at the Galway Races!

Xiney

I heard on the radio several times today that the gardai have said that nobody has reported to them any such incident involving scalpels.

inisboffin

Xiney wrote: »

No I get it... but I was actually present at one of these instances when my friend and I were surrounded by roma flower sellers in Spain. They were pushing into us obviously trying to get at our pockets. My friend lost a substantial amount of cash (particularly as we were only 15/16 and didn't have that much cash to begin with) and I was only saved because I had a money wallet on under my jumper.

Someone else got robbed at the tour eifel the following year (although I didn't see it) and I had one friend who chased a small roma boy through the streets of dublin as he'd taken his wallet.

For some reason these stories sit even less well with me. Aren't we talking about a *race* of people? Replace Roma with another word and...well you get my drift. We only see the Roma begging on streets wearing distinctive clothing. But Xiney, in your account, we are not even talking about the same country for each incident!

I am trying to think of an analogy (sorry am tired) and what I am coming up with is 'English football fans'. I have seen them beat the cr*p out of people for no reason in more than one country too, but do I assume that is all English people who support football? No.
Sorry, your experience is your experience, but this makes me unsettled. And no, having lived in countries around the world with Rom population I have never heard of anyone *I* know being robbed by 'one' either.

Hassled for money, as in begging? Yes. Robbed- no.

Most thieves who are superpro and descend on Galway every race week often work in pairs, often are dressed well and, like all good spies, look just like 'everyone else'

gaeilgegrinds1

About 3 years ago was out on the street in front of the Front Door/Buskers on Ladies Day with my OH, bestfriend and her boyfriend. They were all drinking but I was training so hadn't taken a drop. Everyone around us seemed sloshed. My friend went for her camera and just then out of the corner of my eye I saw a 'lady' put her hand up her long skirt with something. All I really saw was the strap of the camera. We accosted her and I took the camera off her. Part of me felt what we were doing seemed wrong as she was adamant it was her camera. My OH and friend's fella held her. She proceeded to bit one and kick the other and run off, easy to do in a crowd. I checked the camera, sure enough it was my friend's. Very few people seemed to see what happened, crowds hide a lot. We went to Millstreet to report it but not a lot could be done. I know taking a set against a particular race is wrong but really and truly I have heard the types of scams run by these and at this stage have had my mind changed.
They no more want to sell flowers than I do. While these, 'acts,' are being perfored they often rob men and their use of children in their petty crimes really grate on my nerves. I obviously cannot go into detail on that one but a child in my mother's school was taken aside by social services and made me feel stupid by comparison when I heard of the trickery he had been taught. I'd be very careful this week, man undesireables come to town. All I want to know is why they're left here and so few prosecuted when so many crimes committed by them.

HardyEustace

harryd2 wrote: »

many jobless with no welfare do.

Surely if they were here legitimately they would be entitled to welfare?

harryd2

HardyEustace wrote: »

Surely if they were here legitimately they would be entitled to welfare?

Not normally as I'm aware.
They have to have paid tax in the state for 2 years before they are entitled to dole.
If they are asylum seekers from outside EU it's a different matter I think.

Having lived in Eastern Europe for 6 years, I've been victim several times to crimes from Roma folk including been pickpocketed.
Some are very ruthless and agressive. Most non-Roma people in places with alot of Roma absolutely hate them. I can see why.
I give them a wide berth now (que: PC's with the racist-card), but can see it's a vicious circle.

dolphin city

I don't know who the pick pockets are to be honest, but I can tell you that there definitely is a major influx of eastern europeans along shop street in town, I walked down there yesterday and the women were all over the place and the men were in groups of four or five on various different corners of the town.
Maybe they were in because they like horseracing - or maybe they just like the vibe of the town this week.

I also spotted a lot of Irish with various accents from around Ireland in the town too - maybe they are here for the racing and the music.

who knows.

I also spotted a three card trick person down in High Street/Quay Street area (i thought this was illegal) with a couple of his friends pretending they were punters passing by - note if you are reading this, three card trick man - you should try and change your friends as people get very used to looking at the same faces on the punters winning the money

I have also noticed a TON more taxi's than usual in Galway, but maybe they too have driven into Galway to go horseracing and just forgot to take their taxi sign down from the car.

inisboffin

GG1, I hear you and your personal experience. And of course I just have mine. Ye see how this goes though don't ye when and *entire race* / cultural minority etc are ALL put in the same bunch??? It spreads, the malice, and targets the wrong people too, it has gone from ALL Roma now, to 'Romanians' (in the paper and often though to be the same group by many people) to now we are singling out Eastern Europeans in a thread about pickpockets?

Look there are organised crime elements associated with MANY ethnic and cultural groups from the Mafia, to Travellers to Roma, to the Crips whatever.

Roma / Travellers / Black people who we see commit crime are SO visible to us because they stand out. These are crimes committed by 'these people'. Again I will state (and I do know about this as a family friend is a detective) that the majority of slick organised pickpockets in race week are white, Irish/English, and usually normal to well dressed. They *don't* stand out.

Anyone can rob you. Be vigilant and be aware.

@ Dolphin City, yeah, it was on the radio that a HUGE number of non-licensed (for here) Taxi Drivers have descended on Galway, and it is totally illegal as they don't have permission to operate.

harryd2

Today's advertiser says the scalpel story as reported in the Indo is not true..
On another note I was surprised to see no mention of the races on the advertiser front page.

sgthighway

Apologies but I didn't read the whole thread but my friend had her bag nicked in Buskar Brownes. Her own fault for not keeping an eye on it. Let her experience be a lesson for us all to be more careful in pubs this week.
The lad who nicks my wallet will be sorry - feck all in it these days

gaeilgegrinds1

My OH said his friend had her coat taken from Buskers lastnight. They straight through it seemingly...

BornToBe?

Does anyone else think if their stomach was sliced open they'd notice?

gaeilgegrinds1

Alcohol numbs pain quite a bit from what I remember!

martyboy48

BornToBe? wrote: »

Does anyone else think if their stomach was sliced open they'd notice?

Initially you probably wouldn't if it was a scalpal(sp)..a lot would depend on what you were wearing and weather conditions..

biko

I cut myself with a scalpel by mistake (worked in a hospital before) and there is no pain. Well until the blood starting pumping out but that another story.

But it seems Indo (thief cuts guy in stomach) was wrong according to Advertiser (No truth to Ballybrit scalpel attack and robbery story — gardaí).

A spokesperson for Galway Garda station told the Advertiser yesterday that gardaí had not received any report of a man being injured by thieves who used a scalpel to cut his clothes and steal his wallet. A report in the national media yesterday claimed a man reported the theft of his wallet to the temporary Garda station in Ballybrit, and was found to be bleeding from his lower abdomen as a result of being slashed with a scalpel during the robbery. However the spokesperson said no such report had been made, and no one had been injured at Ballybrit.

Xiney

inisboffin wrote: »

For some reason these stories sit even less well with me. Aren't we talking about a *race* of people? Replace Roma with another word and...well you get my drift. We only see the Roma begging on streets wearing distinctive clothing. But Xiney, in your account, we are not even talking about the same country for each incident!

I am trying to think of an analogy (sorry am tired) and what I am coming up with is 'English football fans'. I have seen them beat the cr*p out of people for no reason in more than one country too, but do I assume that is all English people who support football? No.
Sorry, your experience is your experience, but this makes me unsettled. And no, having lived in countries around the world with Rom population I have never heard of anyone *I* know being robbed by 'one' either.

Hassled for money, as in begging? Yes. Robbed- no.

Most thieves who are superpro and descend on Galway every race week often work in pairs, often are dressed well and, like all good spies, look just like 'everyone else'

Something does not have to be absolute to be endemic.

As I understand it, Roma are an ethnic group, not a race. Some experiences I've had and my friends have had with their culture make me wary of them, but I would stop short of branding them theives automatically of course. Frankly, isn't the fact that experiences of them stealing have been worldwide more of an enditement against criminal behaviour being endemic in the community?

As for English football fans, granted not all of them have beaten someone to death, but when I was at a match at Old Trafford I was certainly more vigilant of who was near me, how they were acting etc than I have ever been at Sligo Showgrounds/Terryland. The sheer number of mounted police along the route in Manchester certainly reminded me that I wasn't in Kansas anymore, so to speak.

inisboffin

Xiney wrote: »

Something does not have to be absolute to be endemic.

As I understand it, Roma are an ethnic group, not a race. Some experiences I've had and my friends have had with their culture make me wary of them, but I would stop short of branding them theives automatically of course. Frankly, isn't the fact that experiences of them stealing have been worldwide more of an enditement against criminal behaviour being endemic in the community?

As for English football fans, granted not all of them have beaten someone to death, but when I was at a match at Old Trafford I was certainly more vigilant of who was near me, how they were acting etc than I have ever been at Sligo Showgrounds/Terryland. The sheer number of mounted police along the route in Manchester certainly reminded me that I wasn't in Kansas anymore, so to speak.

Ok well then it's just semantics to me. It feels very wrong to me to infer that an entire (if not, then majority of an) *ethnic group* have criminal tendencies (and that has been the inference). And while I hear your point about prevalence (and agree a much lesser extent - many displaced groups have higher incidence of violence, criminal activity etc, due to a nomadic lifestyle, and surviving abuses), I feel that the visibility factor of these criminal elements within are heightened by the fact that they stand out, by their dress and the 'costume'.
Back to the football analogy, you would likely be more frightened by an English football fan dressed in full garb and a scarf, than you would by the same guy in jeans and a teeshirt in a pub, no? If he was violent walking down the street in jeans and teeshirt, it would just be 'some guy', but wearing full garb he becomes part of the 'mob' that we know.


I do know Xiney, that we live our lives based on our personal experiences, and of course yours are valid, but it just doesn't sit right with me that we (for the most part) assume an entire group are likely to be criminals! Again, my own personal experience with the pickpocket issue says the opposite.

And I really do believe that this is a vicious circle, and the more we buy into negative stereotypes - the more reason we encourage people to say f*ckit, might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb.

Discodog

Oh dear !

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1298957/Gang-smuggled-200-children-Romania-UK-beg-steal-streets.html

I was talking to a Romanian girl who works as a cleaner. She has to lie about her nationality to be trusted & get work. She was explaining that they suffer more from the reputation of the Roma as everyone assumes that Roma & Romanian are the same. The story above suggests that the Romanian government are also concerned.

Ironbar

The same here......or why do you think they have the children with them downtown ? They know the laws. Children under age cant be sued for stealing so theyre sending them out to do it for them.

Effin cowards ! They should be kicked out of the country - all of them.

And before someone thinks I'm a racist: I'm a foreigner in this country myself but I know how to behave in a country I'm only a guest in...

Placebo Effect

Ironbar wrote: »

The same here......or why do you think they have the children with them downtown ? They know the laws. Children under age cant be sued for stealing so theyre sending them out to do it for them.

Effin cowards ! They should be kicked out of the country - all of them.

And before someone thinks I'm a racist: I'm a foreigner in this country myself but I know how to behave in a country I'm only a guest in...

It is racism, pure & simple.

inisboffin

Quote from the Daily Mail article :

"A police spokesman said: ‘The children were told their families would be at risk if they tried to flee, and families were told the children would be harmed if they made a complaint to the authorities.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1298957/Gang-smuggled-200-children-Romania-UK-beg-steal-streets.html#ixzz0vFtLtUlJ

So who are these 'families'? If the inference is that EVERY ONE is a criminal.
Most people knows that criminal elements LOVE marginalised/addicted/weakened/ostracised groups of people, as it keeps them one step further from the law. Higher elements of targeting by criminals - sure, just like many weaker groups are targeted (think of ALL children, and how their voices are less heard), but saying we need to kick them ALL out of somewhere is indeed racist, no matter what country you are from.:mad:

BornToBe?

I know it off the original topic but, found this...

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055984734

personally I'd be paying more attention to my belongings in there presence, more to do with the fact they're not there drinking and socializing like everyone else, but yet seem to be hanging around for a reason, looking and analysing everybody as if picking a target, and get very nervy when people are watching them. It's more comon sense than racisim.