Theft/Crime

Be it New York/London/Paris/Barcelona, tourists tend to be targeted more than the locals. Tourist typically carry more cash and "toys", busy admiring things, and are less likely to hang around to testify if a thief gets caught. So even in NYC your less of a target than a British or German tourist visiting the Big Apple. Also consider the consequences if your are robbed, do you really want to potentially waste a couple of vacation days replacing your passport, canceling cards, arranging replacement funds:( Also do you want to spend your sightseeing time acting like a squirrel constantly looking around for hawks:)
Use the hotel room safe to store you excess cash/cards/document or wear a $10 money belt and you have eliminated problem.

In essence, you're not saying it's objectively worse than NYC. You're saying that I'll have that dopey tourist look in my eye which will bring the wrath down one me. ;-) Especially if I have that big tourist pack strapped to my back.

Pickpocket absolute exist in NYC, but I do think it's a bigger problem in western Europe simply because no other place on the planet has so many popular tourist attractions per square mile which attract more pick pockets per square mile:) But yes that day pack will make you a bigger target.

Yeah, I think petty theft is a little worse in Western Europe than NYC ever since the Wall came down and Eastern European gangs joined the indigenous crooks. You won't get knifed, though

That's good, because I'm a big fan of not getting knifed!

if you take precautions and have situational awareness, will you be fine?
Exactly. Keep the balance between paranoia and naiveté.

The main problem is that the consequences of getting "picked" in Europe are far more inconvenient than when you are at home---lost passport, credit cards, etc. and no friends or family nearby to help out.

That said, we have never experienced or even seen an attempt. Our most recent trip took us to London, Venice, Rome, New York, and Boston, and we walked all over much of each city, so I can compare them. Rome had by far the highest number of annoying peddlers and scam artists ( fake gladiators, etc.) as well as the tightest crowds. I felt I needed to be more wary there than I did in either New York or Boston, or Venice or London. But that is just my impression.

I like what you both said about the consequences, Lola and Michael, and that's an angle I hadn't considered. So even if it's "better," it's much worse to deal with if it actually happens. Thus, increased precautions. Got it.

Conjecture: Europeans do not freak out about a picked pocket or car break in and shrug it off. Americans seem to have zero tolerance about petty crime and obsess for "safety," and ask endlessly the question "is _____safe"?

That is not a fair statement at all.

First - I doubt European victims of petty crime just shrug it off.

Second - For them, it ruins their day and they are out whatever cash they had and the inconvenience of replacing lost cards and IDs. But for a foreign tourist, it has the potential of ruining the trip, or at least messing with tightly scheduled plans that people have spent a lot of money to come see. People might lose their photos, their passport, and their way of paying for things for at least a couple of days.

Third - Most Americans don't understand the nature of crime in Europe. When we hear about robberies in the US, they tend to be muggings and threats of violence to turn over valuables. Whereas in most of Western Europe, robberies are stealth-based like pickpocketing, stealing purses left on chairs and breaking into unattended cars.

And to add to the earlier answers, while I have no doubt that NYC has some pickpockets, they are probably amateurs compared to those in many European cities. The idea of being alert or sticking your hand in your pocket won't work because they prey on the times you are not alert and don't have your hand in your pocket. And they often work in teams to create distractions and keep you from being alert. The chances are still low of being a victim, and it varies significantly by city, but it still happens enough to keep the lines at the embassies busy for replacing passports and such.

As for attempts, we've had a few unsuccessful attempts in Paris and Nice. Sometimes it's when we were living there and going about daily business, while one time I was surrounded by four well-dressed women who just had to admire the same painting I was looking at in an empty room of the Louvre. For some reason, I don't see that happening at the Met. It's just part of life and the precautions are the same as in NY.

Don't be paranoid about it, but be vigilant. My wife was pickpocketed in Venice on our honeymoon in 1999, and again in Madrid in 2005 outside the Prado. The first time she was distracted with too may bags, trying to hurry and keep up with our friends from the cruise who knew how to get to the train station in Venice from the cruise port. Tourists dragging too many loose things are a magnet for thieves, at least that's my theory. In Madrid our mistake was that my wife was ten steps behind me, so they targeted her. A big group slowed down right in front of her, and she bumped into them - which is of course when her wallet was lifted. The funny thing is there were undercover cops watching and the instantly swooped in and made an arrest. They tried to convince us to get in am unmarked car to go to the police station and make a report. I was thinking, even that part could be a scam - how do I know these guys are really cops? We spent a couple of hours at the police station making a report, and every six minutes someone else walked in with a tale of woe, having been pickpockted in Madrid. Have also been in close proximity to obvious thieves on a number of occasions, but we have become pretty savvy and manged to avoid them. Confident body language and being aware of your surroundings go a long way!

VS your wife was not targeted because she was alone ( millions of women in Europe do not have a husband walking beside them.. lol ).. She was targeted because
A) she likely appeared a bit distracted
B) she had her wallet in an easily assessable purse.
C) she was just in wrong place at wrong time.

"Basically, if you take precautions and have situational awareness, will you be fine?" - Yes

We always put our wallets in our front pockets

Sorry, that's where European pickpockets look. They are glad for the super easy picking of a back pocket but expect front pocket.

Wear a money belt. Inside your clothes, not like a woman I saw the other day on a train after having arrived back in England with the money belt outside her trousers, proud as punch.

Keith, yoghurt attacks are a serious public safety issue, perhaps it would be best it you refrained from making light of it!

LOL, hahahaha.

Funny, Americans seem to be Worry about pickpockets in Europe whereas we, Europeans, are afraid of true bloody violence in the US.

My husband was pick pocketed this past summer in Italy. What the thief didn't realize was the budge in my husband's front pocket was a 16 oz Nalgene water bottle, not a wallet.

I lived in the Bronx for 20 years. Worked in Manhattan & took the D train every day. I've been to Paris, Liverpool, Dublin, Belfast & other cities throughout Europe.

Wherever you are on this planet, just don't be a moron. I'd rather cut off my own head & use it as a salad bowl than wear that silly money belt, but I also know enough not to flash my cash or credit cards on a crowded public street. If a neighborhood looks shady, don't go for a run at 5:00 a.m. hoping to fit it in before the tour bus leaves.

In all my trips to Europe, I've had one incident - in Paris & it was some pathetic kid trying to con me into buying a ring he'd planted in the dirt & pretended he'd found near one of the many tourist attractions. Little different than some bum who might pass by you & pretend you knocked the empty bottle of booze out of his hand & try to get you to buy him a new one on 8th Avenue.

Like you said, just do your research, take precautions & be mindful & you'll be fine. Some people here might be overwhelmed by larger urban areas & are surprised by what they see, but if you're more used to it, I wouldn't worry much.

The most common crime in Europe that you would probably encounter would be from a pick pocket. They tend to operate around the major tourist hot spots where people are distracted by the sights and not paying attention to their surroundings. . Train stations are "danger" spots too as people are distracted while trying to figure out schedules, tracks for boarding etc. Once on the trains themselves, if they are very crowded, people can be vulnerable targets. Buses on the popular tourist routes within a city also provide enough distraction as tourists watch for their stop. There is no such thing as personal space on many popular bus and train routes and that makes for the perfect cover for the extra hand in your pocket !
As an example, the trains between the Cinque Terra towns in Italy are worked by groups of 3 or 4 young girls that are extremely adept at making off with your valuables.
The best defense is common sense - use a money belt or neck wallet for your passport, credit cards and other valuables and only have as much out as you will need during the day (and can afford to lose if some one does slip past your defenses).