When we talk of organised crime, what most concerns the public at large is that it may actually be more organised than the police itself. The forces of law and order are demanding a national plan to combat gangland crime, and warn that if joint action is not taken, the figures will continue to rise. Here globalisation really is called for. The fact is that, along with the travellers and tourists to whom we owe our gratitude and respect, certain undesirable guests have slipped in. There is no cause for alarm, but for vigilance, yes.

Paid killers have been found to have settled in Spain, and sociologists talk of the “call effect”. If criminal bands are encouraging their peers to set up home within our community, is this not because there is a bright future for them here? The imbalance between crimes and sentences could be a particular attraction for thugs and robbers, but what is beyond doubt is that going easy on criminals does not help the police in their battle. There are gangs specialising in holding up villas, others in the theft of high-performance cars, while others still deal exclusively in ransacking jewellery stores. It would seem that they have carved the whole scene up very nicely, thank you. They are not looking for competition amongst themselves - the Bulgarian who has just stolen that Mercedes wants to be left to his business, as does the cannabis-dealing Moroccan. “Let’s just all get on, there’s plenty for everyone”, seems to be the order of the day.

Villa robberies have risen so alarmingly that even those of us who do not own a villa are becoming worried. There’s no place like home, we used to say, but this seems to be no longer the case. Following the recent case in Valencia, in which the owner of the property killed two burglars, a new business has sprung up: home fortification. Plenty of concrete, plenty of steel, armoured doors... All more expensive than simply extraditing
the criminals.