If you are lucky enough to afford apartments in Madrid Spain, then you need to look for areas that have some element of security. If you really feel that you cannot walk the streets safely then you might turn to the cheap car rental in Madrid. The problem is that you will be restricting your holiday just because of security concerns.
The criminals cannot be allowed to define your trip to the city. These are painful facts about Madrid, but there is an increase in the number of pickpockets. That is not to say that other European capitals such as Paris and London are not prone to this problem.