Crime hot-spots in the capital

[AlexanderB]

Speaking of robberies at knife and gunpoint, I recommend minimising the attack surface. If you're a man, get a small, thin wallet that doesn't protrude visibly from your pocket. Don't put any credit/debit cards, driver's licenses, etc. in it -- these are all things whose main cost when they are stolen is enormous inconvenience. Put enough pesos in it for what you need, but an amount you could still live with being stolen. Don't carry around your passport if you can at all help it.

If you're a woman, stick to cheap purses, and don't carry anything overly important in them, or large sums of money.

If you have loose pockets that are easy to reach into surreptitiously, safety-pin them shut from the inside (so that the pin is not easily visible on the outside). Seriously. It's tacky, it's definitely not a trendy fashion accessory, but it works.

 

[HeyBA]

I get the point of the article. People walk around in general insouciance in those places, and they shouldn't.

 

[ElLatingo]

@AlexanderB...

Don't carry around your passport if you can at all help it.

Do you happen to know what the laws are for keeping your DNI on you? Are you required to, or is it OK to carry a photocopy instead? If the photocopy gets lifted it's certainly easier to replace than the actual card.

 

[HeyBA]

El Latingo,

What I've been told is that there is an obscure law allowing the police to incarcerate you for ten hours if you don't have ID. I don't know if this is accurate, and it is a slim possibility. The only time I could see if being used is if the cops wanted to harrass or shut you down, such as in response to a noise complaint or something, and they didn't have anything else.

Carrying the real passport is not advised. People usually get a photocopy made and laminate it. It's also nice to always have it in case you need it for other purposes, like renting something, etc...

 

[JoeGillis]

I carry at all times photocopies of my DNI and passport. I carry my actual DNI and/or passport only when I need to use them for some specific reason. Only once in nearly eight years have I been asked to show ID to a cop; my copies were deemed sufficient.

 

[Happy Camper]

Crime hot-spots, where in BA is this not a major problem?

 

[KFbaGirl]

Stafford, could you PM me the alarm company? I live in the same general area, and have been thinking about this myself!
Thanks!!

I always thought we were pretty immune up here on the Palermo side of Barrancas de Belgrano (11 de Sept y Teodoro Garcia). Never heard of a single incident in the past four years. But then just on Monday a neighborhood shop owner friend of mine had his bike stolen right in front of his store. The guys cut the chain lock and took off. Apparently the same day, a couple of chorros on a moped cruised by a woman on the corner of Teodoro Garcia / Cabildo and ripped her necklace right off her neck. Now there is a marked increase of police presence on our corners up here. Hoping these are isolated incidents and / or the cops stick around and keep it from getting worse. On a separate note, we had an alarm system installed in our place a few months ago. Not for any real reason other than it somehow just seemed like the right thing to do.

 

[marksoc]

It was the last week of Jan at Magdalena´s. I was just there yesterday, and they are keeping an eye on everyone that even pauses on the corner. Even asking people hanging around to leave if they are not paying customers.

If it is in the corner of the street, that would be illegal. It is a free country, after all. Despite the tolls on roads, there is an article in the Constitution that says that I can stand there in the corner and they cannot do anything about it. When I was living in Israel a similar law about freedom of movement (oh, the irony) was utilized to make the owners of a closed neighborhood to open the gates. And reluctantly they did, and I did a tour of the installations backed by my rights secured by the Israeli Supreme Court. Was a nice afternoon.

 

[stl999]

If it is in the corner of the street, that would be illegal. It is a free country, after all. Despite the tolls on roads, there is an article in the Constitution that says that I can stand there in the corner and they cannot do anything about it. When I was living in Israel a similar law about freedom of movement (oh, the irony) was utilized to make the owners of a closed neighborhood to open the gates. And reluctantly they did, and I did a tour of the installations backed by my rights secured by the Israeli Supreme Court. Was a nice afternoon.

Please don´t interpret my post as being some extremist rights-smothering thing. It was merely to say the staff awknowledge the issue and are trying to make sure its safer.

 

[ghost]

I always thought we were pretty immune up here on the Palermo side of Barrancas de Belgrano (11 de Sept y Teodoro Garcia). Never heard of a single incident in the past four years. But then just on Monday a neighborhood shop owner friend of mine had his bike stolen right in front of his store. The guys cut the chain lock and took off. Apparently the same day, a couple of chorros on a moped cruised by a woman on the corner of Teodoro Garcia / Cabildo and ripped her necklace right off her neck. Now there is a marked increase of police presence on our corners up here. Hoping these are isolated incidents and / or the cops stick around and keep it from getting worse. On a separate note, we had an alarm system installed in our place a few months ago. Not for any real reason other than it somehow just seemed like the right thing to do.

Maybe you should guess that the cops orchestrate the crime.