I feel very safe walking around Buenos Aires and even where I live in San Telmo, which some people think is not a very safe area. But, again, today I was reminded that thieves come in all types.

Walking out to get the paper this afternoon, I saw two teenage girls chasing another teenage girl and a guy through the intersection of Tacuarí and Brasil.

At first, I didn’t think anything about it. There’s a school on this block and you often see teenagers chasing each other around, just playing. All the teens looked around the same age, appeared to be working class kids from the area.

So, I thought that it was just a game though the two people being chased were taking some chances darting out into traffic. And the girl being chased was smiling, as if it was all a joke, though I did notice she had a backpack in her hands, which is what the other girls appeared to be after.

By this time, a small crowd was gathering on the corner and the girls doing the chasing started shouting, “ladrón”. At that point, everyone standing around started to realize that it wasn’t fun and games. A couple of young guys standing next to me on the corner took off across the street and chased down the girl with the bag.

They finally got the bag back but not the girl or the guy who took it and not before whatever was in the bag was stolen. A policeman eventually arrived and the girl tearfully explained what had happened as she looked through her bag.

This is the third robbery that I have witnessed in the past year. Interestingly, all the victims of those three robberies were not American or European tourists - as one might expect - but South Americans. Indeed, the girl today definitely was local. We have a porteña friend who had her digital camera stolen, snatched straight from her hands while she was taking a photograph. And in front of the Obelisc we saw a man get his wallet lifted from his front pants pocket.

In the other two incidents, the thieves looked like thieving, low-life types. But today’s culprits appeared to be ordinary people, whom you would never suspect. But I don’t want to sound alarmist. I see people wandering around snapping photos with digital cameras all the time. So, I guess it’s just a reminder to be cautious - but not paranoid - of your valuables and your surroundings.

Ceci also saw a man get his wallet stolen as he tried to board a bus in front of Estación Constitución.

A final word about safety in San Telmo: in the past few months, I have noticed that there is now a policeman stationed on just about every other street corner. Their presence is quite obvious at night when the streets are rather empty, but they’re around during the day also. The problem during the day is that the policemen are often hanging out in some kiosk or chatting to the guy selling newspapers. So, you probably have to yell loudly to get their attention. And, I maybe I’m wrong, but somehow I just don’t get the impression that policemen here are going to do a TJ Hooker and chase anyone down. (Ok, I’m showing my age in that cultural reference to American TV). But I do feel safer knowing that the police are fairly visible.