Sad post about danger on tourist promenades

[Janet]

I've thought quite hard about posting this, and nearly didn't, but it seems to me that most people would rather know and be prepared, than be kept in happy ignorance. The simple fact is that there is an increasing problem with homelessness and mental illness on the island. In the south, the problem is particularly noticeable around the beaches, where the homeless find a bed on the beach or in shacks. They are very vulnerable, of course, but become caught up in a degrading and degenerating cycle of drugs and crime just as a means to survive.

All that apart, and however sad it is, they pose a threat to us. As I've already posted, there has been an incident in the last few days of someone who went beserk on the Playa de las Vistas promenade, and who tried to rob a car hire place, and then attacked five women. The local Canarian/Spanish press and interested parties say that because of cuts and local authority indifference, the promenades, particularly in Arona but also in Adeje to a certain extent, have become no-go areas after mid-late afternoon, abandoned to these people, with tourists blissfully unaware of the risks they're running. Never mind what sort of "thinking" is behind this official "policy", there is a problem.

Sadly, it is necessary to warn everyone, resident and tourist alike, that we have to look out for ourselves and, regretfully, avoid or take extreme care in these areas after 5pm or so when the police presence is to all intents and purposes non-existent. I really wish I didn't have to make this post. JA