Safety in Romania
We would like to talk about a sensitive but important topic: do you feel safe in Romania?
How would you define the level of safety in the country?
Can you walk safely during the day and at night without any fear?
Do you think there is a high rate of criminality, social problems or tensions?
Share with us your insight on safety in Romania and in the city you live in.
Thank you in advance,
Christine
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It's far more likely for an expat to be scammed by an unscrupulous taxi driver, business owner, real estate agent, etc. Generally, encounters involving money transactions, care needs to be taken because many Romanians assume a foreigner has more money, and they look for ways to take advantage.
Some of my experiences, likely as a result of me speaking English or poor Romanian....
I've had a taxi driver try to charge me 20 RON for a 3 km drive from the the airport.
I've had a driver that was transporting wood from a deposit, 1 km away to my house, ask for 150 RON
I've encountered a lady at the open market try to charge 12 RON/KG for tomato's....when they were 6 RON at other stands.
I've had a car dealership service tell me I needed a new instrument cluster costing 1000 Euros, another independent service made the repair (which was only a sensor) for 80 RON.
Fortunately, in these cases I was wise enough to realize what was going on...but there have been other times where I've been taken if it was for a service or product I wasn't so familiar with, or I didn't have my wife or a friend with me that spoke Romanian fluently to intervene for me


This is what Wikipedia says
Crime in Bucharest is quite low in comparison to other European capital cities, with the number of total offences declining by 51% between 2000 and 2004,[1] and by 7% between 2012 and 2013.[2] Violent and organised crime is quite low (only 16% of total crimes committed), with petty crime and institutional corruption being more widespread
The violent crime rate in Bucharest remains very low, with 11 murders and 983 other violent offenses taking place in 2007.[3] Although violent crimes fell by 13% in 2013 compared to 2012, there were 19 recorded murders (18 of which the suspects were arrested).[2] Relative to the population of approximately 2 million, this makes Bucharest one of the safest European capitals. Although there have been a number of police crackdowns on organised crime gangs, such as the C膬m膬taru clan and Babubudu gang, organised crime generally has a reduced impact on public life.
When you consider that the majority of murder victims know their attacker (eg a relative or ex-life partner) rather than it being a random act, it becomes apparent that Romanians are generally a peaceful people towards strangers. I don't refer to Roma gypsies when I make that statement. This is an entirely different race with other characteristics.
Having said that, a large % of ATM crime in places like the uk (92% was recently cited!) is committed by Romanian passport holders. Gypsies or non gypsies, I have no idea.聽 But this is the sort of crime one can expect in tourist areas - what is called petty crime, rather than violent crime.聽 I have never heard of anyone being mugged by force. There is always a first time, but its important to note, Romania is a very safe place to live.
whitemountainproperty wrote:I don't think any of the replies here are doing Romania any justice. Sure, its just like any other place in that you have to be careful where you go........ It is generally safe to walk through any city at 4am alone.
You make some valid points, but I think you're considering only the human sources of violence.聽 As several of us have noted on this topic, a real and present danger in Romania is the wild dogs.聽 Every year, children are bitten to death and many more people are attacked by street dogs in many parts of Romania.聽 To say that it's safe to walk through any city at 4 am.....well I would disagree, considering the dogs are often quite active from midnight until about 5 when people start getting out.
I've never had to worry about stray dogs attacking my family in the USA, Germany, UK...well, ANY other country I've spent time or lived in.聽 The unfortunate thing is, Romania isn't doing its residents and citizens any justice by handling this problem.
Romaniac
There is crime out there, but maybe not in the places and at the times most expats are likely to be around. Crime stats tend to indicate the population's confidence in the police, so I wouldn't read too much into them. I'd agree with White Mountain though, the vast majority of crime here is petty and opportunistic thieving. There's very little organised violent crime - very little organised anything!
Rents and apartment prices are obviously cheaper and if you're a foreigner you're likely to end up there and make a wrong impression of Romania.
You won't get stabbed or kidnapped in Romania more than in other european countries. To be honest I was more afraid when i visited Paris.
Some beggars are insistent but you can simply ignore them or say "nu am [bani]" = i don't have any [money]
The situation with stray dogs has gotten better, but i can't say for sure for Bucharest because I live in another city right now. The few stray dogs left on the streets should by now be tagged, neutered and vaccinated.
So generally, you can get mugged and stabbed in every country. If you see a drunk at 3 AM coming towards you it's safer to cross the street because you can never know, same with groups, this is a general rule wherever you live around the globe. Romania is a safe country by normal standards.
If you're not stuck to Bucharest with your work i recommend settling in a smaller city from Transilvania, here we are usually friendlier and more civilized (don't tell that to those from bucharest). The capital is a mix of all sorts of people.
Bogdan_P wrote:The situation with stray dogs has gotten better, but i can't say for sure for Bucharest because I live in another city right now. The few stray dogs left on the streets should by now be tagged, neutered and vaccinated.
In Iasi, it's gotten worse I'd say, unfortunately.聽 In the area around my bloc, we used to have only 2 dogs which patrolled the area and kept other dogs away, and they were actually quite friendly to those that lived in the area and were generally quiet.聽 They actually made the area feel safer in a sense.聽 Well the city went around collecting dogs, took them away, which would seem the right thing to do.聽 Instead of there being no dogs around the bloc now, about 30 dogs inhabit the area which constantly fight each other, and are aggressive to people walking around day or night. Throughout the year batches of puppies appear also, so they definitely aren't neutered, and likely not vaccinated.
From this viewpoint, the mayor and others responsible in Iasi have failed miserably at controlling this problem which is unacceptable.聽 I've been in other smaller cities and really haven't seen any dogs at all.
Romaniac
Expat-Blog Experts Team
But anyway, the Bucharest General Mayor Sorin Oprescu recently got charged of taking a bribe and, this happened just last month. If you read the press you won't believe what this guy did with no remorse.
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