If you are the victim of a theft in Spain, do you know what to do?  First of all cancel any stolen debit or credit cards with your bank immediately. Secondly, insurance companies require you to obtain a police report, but you should report the incident in any case, whether you intend to make a claim or not. So what do you need to do?

Which of the three police forces do you contact? Policía Local, Nacional or Guardia Civil?

Crimes must be reported to the Policía Nacional and a denuncia (statement/report) must be made and signed as soon as possible.  But is this easier said than done?

Where is the nearest comisaría, or police station, located? Even large towns usually only have one. 

And do you speak Spanish well enough to deal with it?

If you do, or have someone who can, get to the local comisaría as soon as you can. Don’t bother to ring the emergency number, as that is for a call centre in Madrid and they are unlikely to send any officers along unless an assault has taken place.

If you don’t speak Spanish well enough, ring 902 102 112, where they have foreign language speakers and you can make a telephone report in English.This is called a denuncia telefónica.

You’ll need to give all details of the theft, ie location, time, circumstances, witnesses. Plus they will ask for your full name, place and date of birth, nationality, parents’ names, NIE, address, contact telephone number and a list of money and other items lost and their value. The officer will give you a reference number, which you then take to a police station of your choosing within two days. There you can correct any errors or omissions in the report and sign the three copies, of which you will be given one.

If you have lost documents, eg passport or driving licence, carry a photocopy of the denuncia with you until you get the lost documents replaced, should you be stopped by police and asked for ID.

And next time, easy to say, but be more careful!

© Paul Whitelock

Related article:

Spanish Police

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