Crime in Castilléjar

I was away on Tuesday evening and so missed the meeting at Castilléjar town hall about the increasing problems with robberies in the area. It´s not just houses that are being targeted but crops out in the campo. Apparantly the meeting was well attended, but my friend who went reckoned she was the only English person there.
Anyway, the plan now is to try to get the Guardia to pay a bit more attention to the issue. To this end there are petitions in the town hall and in some of the bars for residents to sign, and people who have experienced problems are requested to submit their ´denuncias´by 30th January. There are notices with more information on the new notice board by the town hall.

I didn't realise there was a meeting on or Annie and I would have gone! I don't go in the village much so always tend to find out too late.

I didnt know about the meeting until about 1 hour before and I couldnt make it.

Yes the crime is a worry here - But last week I did noticed an increase in Guardia

I will have a look at the notices next time I am at the PO

Maybe more people would have been there if we had known about it! As with a lot of things we are supposed to be psychic!! Maybe you could let us know what the posters say Kate? I didn't know there was a problem!!

oooh thats good to know,weve been robbed twice now,ill defo be signing i think the people doing it should be caught,theyre making peoples life a misery thanks for that info xx

The worst thing is most people 'know who it is' in Castillejar - it is just being able to catch them!

yeh its excactly the same here its just not on is it mrs x

gilly wrote:Maybe more people would have been there if we had known about it! As with a lot of things we are supposed to be psychic!! Maybe you could let us know what the posters say Kate? I didn't know there was a problem!!

There were posters advertising the meeting, but I´m not sure when they went up - I only saw them the day before but had been away for a few days. The new noticeboard by the town hall is the place to look.
Have seen several Guardia Civil cars round and about - must start wearing my cycle helmet before I get fined!

Yeah must wear your cycle helmet! That's a really serious crime!
Never heard of anyone getting a fine for not wearing one, has anyone else?

I´ve been told by Spanish neighbours that if cycling you should wear a yellow jacket (or similar bright clothing) and helmet, but that you´re only likely to be stopped on the main roads. But the Guardia may now be more on the back roads too. Not heard of anyone getting fined, but don´t know many cyclists here! And if they´re short of a bob or two I wouldn´t like to take the risk.
Someone had a lot of farm machinery stolen very recently - not amateurs in this case!

We have all got to be extra vigilant in these difficult times and not be too complacent about not locking the car or leaving windows and doors open etc etc...

and we all need to buy a big baseball bat, i caught two guys in downstairs lasdt year trying to rob me and the guardia said that if they are in your home you can use as much force as you like to protect your house, just short of killing them in his own words, but once they are out of your house you cant touch them

Wether true or not I don't know. Several Years ago we were in Switzerland and got friendly with some policemen. They told us that as most houses have guns (Most Swiss are or have been in the army) it was common for them to go to a burglary where the culprit had been shot. They changed the law and the culprit had to be in possession of a stolen item, so then when responding to a burglary they would see a burglar laid out with a dvd/video perched on their chest. They then went further and said there also had to be a warning shot. You guessed it, responding they would find a burglar with an item on his/her chest and a bullet in the ceiling. I wonder what the law is in Spain?

There´s now a notice up on the notice board in Castilléjar asking residents to give their e-mail addresses in to the Town Hall to enable them to have better communication. Paco at the front desk has the list
Not sure what´s happened to the information that Kirsten used to send round in English, maybe she´s stopped doing it?

Yeah Kirsten doesnt work for the Town Hall anymore.

Just in case some have noticed, the wheel outside our cave, including the metal bar it was fixed to, has been removed. Fermin asked if it had been stolen but I confirmed that we removed it as it is getting fragile and children passing did like to spin it round. We didn't want it to fall apart so thought it best to take it down until we can sort something out.