Youth crime in 1990s Spain: nostalgia or reality?
Heroin, skinheads and armed robberies: that was Spanish crime in the 80s and 90s. What has changed today? A look, free of political correctness, at how it has evolved.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Youth crime in the 90s: when Spaniards were the bad guys
The debate on public safety usually focuses on immigration, but those who lived through the 80s and 90s remember a homegrown crime wave that was very much present. Junkies, skinheads, neighbourhood gangs and muggings with syringes were part of everyday life in many Spanish cities. Heroin wiped out a large part of that generation. Today, however, the profile has changed.
Spanish crime in the 80s and 90s
In working-class neighbourhoods of Valencia, Barcelona or Madrid, the dangers had Spanish names. Addicts threatening people with syringes, skinhead gangs looking for a fight, or the so-called "malotes pelaos" with their motorbikes and knives. Heroin and cocaine ran rampant. Jewellery robberies sometimes ended in deaths, as the newspapers of 1986 showed. The feeling of insecurity was real and part of daily life.
The generational handover of crime
Those who lived through that era point to a contrast: today most muggings and thefts are committed by immigrants. Homegrown crime has vanished from the streets, wiped out by old age, death or unemployment. Or perhaps it has simply moved to other European countries. The question that remains: did that crime disappear, or did it just change its profile?
Related threads in the forum
The debate on public safety usually focuses on immigration, but those who lived through the 80s and 90s remember a homegrown crime wave that was very much present. Junkies, skinheads, neighbourhood gangs and muggings with syringes were part of everyday life in many Spanish cities. Heroin wiped out a large part of that generation. Today, however, the profile has changed.
Spanish crime in the 80s and 90s
In working-class neighbourhoods of Valencia, Barcelona or Madrid, the dangers had Spanish names. Addicts threatening people with syringes, skinhead gangs looking for a fight, or the so-called "malotes pelaos" with their motorbikes and knives. Heroin and cocaine ran rampant. Jewellery robberies sometimes ended in deaths, as the newspapers of 1986 showed. The feeling of insecurity was real and part of daily life.
The generational handover of crime
Those who lived through that era point to a contrast: today most muggings and thefts are committed by immigrants. Homegrown crime has vanished from the streets, wiped out by old age, death or unemployment. Or perhaps it has simply moved to other European countries. The question that remains: did that crime disappear, or did it just change its profile?
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (18 replies).
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