Crime? There are many misapprehensions about the Costa del Sol. First the criminal haven that stuck some thirty years ago. The Costa is no longer the criminal haven it was deemed to be in the sixties and seventies. There are criminals everywhere but you don't have to mingle with them any more than you would in your own crime-riddled country. Most residents say that they feel safer here than they do back home. Petty crime exists but it can be minimised with sensible precautions.