JeffBAfromUSA
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- Jul 9, 2010
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I have lived here for about a month. There are a lot of discussions regarding crime in this city; these are my opinion and observations.
One of the first things I was warned about when I was talking about going to Buenos Aires was to watch out for robberies. Friends who had formally lived here had mentioned that it’s common to get your wallet or purse stolen while living or visiting there. I didn’t worry about this too much because I often hear people say “well you can have this in any big city.”
I sell different products here and one of them is doors, so I have had the opportunity to talk to a lot of people in the short time I have lived here. The topic of security always comes up because people want to know if my doors are secure. The doors in demand here are the type that have bars on the inside that when locked, the bars extended into the wall, floor, and ceiling to provide a secure almost impenetrable lock. I was surprised that this is what people wanted. This type of locking system is modeled after the locking system used by banks.
Somehow in the course of meeting people I would ask if they had ever been a victim of theft here. Most people said yes. In fact, a high percentage of people said yes they had been robbed. These were people from different parts of the city, different ages, and both men and women. Many had been robbed several times. I began to keep an unofficial log of this because I was so amazed at how common it was. The part that intrigued me the most is that not one of these people had reported the crime. I couldn’t understand this. I would reply, “If you don’t report it, how can things ever get better?” I got many in depth lectures about the corruption in the government, the police force, and the system in general which I realized, I didn’t understand.
I had a run of 15 people in a row who had said they had been robbed before I found someone who said they had never been. Certainly there are a lot of people here and if you ask enough people and you can find almost anything. No, not everyone gets robbed but I believe a high percentage of people do. More so then most people realize and partly because so much theft takes place and no one ever knows about it. The majority of people I talked to are full time residence of this area so temporary residents might have a different point of view. I stopped asking people if they had been robbed because some of the stories of theft were not so petty. Some were filled with emotional accounts of knife or gun point and descriptions how they feared for their life.
I would love to say it’s no different here than any other big city but I can’t. It is a charming city with most of the people you meet being very kind. I find this kindness quite a contrast from the danger that seems to permeate the city. As a visitor, I follow the suggestions about being safe and travel around the city a lot. I personally have never been robbed, but I also know the bars over all the windows and inside the doors in this city are there for a reason.
One of the first things I was warned about when I was talking about going to Buenos Aires was to watch out for robberies. Friends who had formally lived here had mentioned that it’s common to get your wallet or purse stolen while living or visiting there. I didn’t worry about this too much because I often hear people say “well you can have this in any big city.”
I sell different products here and one of them is doors, so I have had the opportunity to talk to a lot of people in the short time I have lived here. The topic of security always comes up because people want to know if my doors are secure. The doors in demand here are the type that have bars on the inside that when locked, the bars extended into the wall, floor, and ceiling to provide a secure almost impenetrable lock. I was surprised that this is what people wanted. This type of locking system is modeled after the locking system used by banks.
Somehow in the course of meeting people I would ask if they had ever been a victim of theft here. Most people said yes. In fact, a high percentage of people said yes they had been robbed. These were people from different parts of the city, different ages, and both men and women. Many had been robbed several times. I began to keep an unofficial log of this because I was so amazed at how common it was. The part that intrigued me the most is that not one of these people had reported the crime. I couldn’t understand this. I would reply, “If you don’t report it, how can things ever get better?” I got many in depth lectures about the corruption in the government, the police force, and the system in general which I realized, I didn’t understand.
I had a run of 15 people in a row who had said they had been robbed before I found someone who said they had never been. Certainly there are a lot of people here and if you ask enough people and you can find almost anything. No, not everyone gets robbed but I believe a high percentage of people do. More so then most people realize and partly because so much theft takes place and no one ever knows about it. The majority of people I talked to are full time residence of this area so temporary residents might have a different point of view. I stopped asking people if they had been robbed because some of the stories of theft were not so petty. Some were filled with emotional accounts of knife or gun point and descriptions how they feared for their life.
I would love to say it’s no different here than any other big city but I can’t. It is a charming city with most of the people you meet being very kind. I find this kindness quite a contrast from the danger that seems to permeate the city. As a visitor, I follow the suggestions about being safe and travel around the city a lot. I personally have never been robbed, but I also know the bars over all the windows and inside the doors in this city are there for a reason.
