Two bodies or an extra lens for my upcoming trip to Rome?

Chas J wrote:

You are either in denial or have not travelled too much ! ... Italy IS worse than many other countries. I have travelled around Europe many times and had occasion to live in Rome for something over three months ... my local friends warned me to be careful.

Also when in Naples I had to fend off three men that were trying to pull a scam (rob me) on a tram near the railway station.

Yes; be careful out there.

Actually I suspect there is a calculation that can be made which relates to the density of tourism and/or the proportion of tourist to local and rate of theft which applies anywhere so there are specific locations which may be high risk in Rome. But also Paris etc.

Also remember that the thieves are often "tourists" as well - they will travel from other countries to good "feeding grounds" during the tourist season. (London has got really bad in this respect).

The positive side, is such thieves are seldom violent. They also watch for easy targets, of which there are plenty! You just need to be a little more aware and cautious than the average (which isn't too hard!)

In practice I don't worry too much about camera equipment - it's not that good a target for the pros ... difficult to hide, hard to sell at a price to make it worth while. The real target is cash and credit cards. The real danger for photographers is losing "awareness" while concentrating on a photo allowing a thief to pick your wallet.