New attacks by repeat offenders on elderly people in Catalonia increase concern

Crime hasn't just skyrocketed in recent years in Catalonia, but it's also targeting the most vulnerable. Elderly people are one of the groups in the crosshairs of repeat offenders. A new trend is becoming popular: young people on scooters riding around looking for a suitable victim.

This is what happened in Badalona. According to the digital outlet TOT Badalona, three young people on a scooter assaulted an elderly woman using the snatching technique. The thieves ripped the necklace off the victim, who was left crying on the ground.

This isn't an isolated case. Last year, in just three months, Mossos identified more than 350 thieves on scooters in Barcelona. The problem has reached such proportions that Catalan police carried out several operations to intercept these criminals.

In some cases, these thieves coordinate with each other to assault the most defenseless victims, usually minors, women, or elderly people. This is also happening in Bellvitge, where a group of thieves have frightened the neighbors. They chase elderly people to the entrance of their homes, where they assault them to steal their belongings.

The rise of this trend is causing a lot of concern among neighbors. WhatsApp groups are being organized to confront this threat and, above all, to protect elderly and vulnerable people.

Elderly people, suitable victims

However, the choice of elderly people isn't exclusive to thieves on scooters. In recent weeks, several news stories have appeared in the press where the victims are elderly people.

According to Metrópoli, Mossos arrested last week the young man who attacked an elderly man over eighty years old with a sharp object. It turns out the thief, a 34-year-old man, had accumulated 25 prior police records. Meanwhile, the victim ended up in the hospital with injuries to his neck and one leg.

These cases generate a lot of outrage and also show the worst side of repeat offending. It's a reflection of the deterioration of security in Catalonia, fostered by a leniency that for years has downplayed crime. 

In these cases, it's the most unprotected people who suffer the consequences of crime that, according to the left, are just perceptions. Like the 91-year-old man with reduced mobility who last month was the victim of a violent robbery.