Crime in Argentina

[RichardAlem]

I bought a Pacsafe V100 hip pack and now ride the Subte without a care. Previously I lost two wallets and a cell phone to pickpockets; which was my fault for not securing them. I don't think like a thief and so I was careless. There are many thieves and unethical people in Buenos Aires who will take every advantage. I was at the Juramento station a few weeks ago and counted 14 turnstile jumpers in three minutes. Not much violent crime though; nothing really compared to the USA.

 

[John.St]

Back in 2009 I started a quiery namedCrime in BsAs - anyone?
In Buenos Aíres, have you personally been the victim of:

Crime in BsAs - anyone?

Quite a number of threads concern crime in Buenos Aíres - a member has been the victim or knows someone who has been. Given the number of members it is possible to get a realistic statistics of the subsection of society, which frequent baExpats. Please respond from your own personal experience...

baexpats.org

It was interesting to read people's experiences 16 years ago.

Is it still like that in BsAs?

 

[LuckyLuke]

Language reflects culture...there's a phrase in Argentina "no regalarse", which means to avoid giving someone an easy target (yourself). Like any major city, it means being street smart and knowing how to avoid crimes of opportunity. If you follow the suggestions, you can avoid most crime down here. That being said, avoiding crime down here is easier than avoiding mass shootings in seemingly random places, which was an anxiety I was glad to get rid of.

 

[FLEggs]

I have lived in 8 big global cities and in the six months I have been here, I have been told how dangerous BsAs is from the locals and to be careful. I have found it to be relatively safe and I just keep my phone in my groin and try to be present. I think most locals do not have a reference of what dangerous is, tbh ...........but with that being said, i have had two different friends who had their uber door window smashed by crobars and their phones stolen out of their hands in like 3 seconds flat (both at night, stopped at lights on av Cordoba) so there is crime for sure. They were both very traumatized. In the US I have had like 7 bikes stolen, no phones but it seems the same black market petty crime thing is def a thing here like in the US.

 

[devilclam]

That being said, avoiding crime down here is easier than avoiding mass shootings in seemingly random places, which was an anxiety I was glad to get rid of.

I have unfortunately been around a lot of gun violence including mass shootings, drivebys, and police shoot outs and this anxiety is the one I'm happiest be rid of.

I remember when I first moved here I went on a date and we were on a bar patio and a car backfired. Instincts nearly took over, cause I was ready to hit the floor. That's when I realized how traumatizing living in America was.

So yeah, Buenos Aires is fine.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

The local slang term for them is "Pungas". They usually work in teams and target women or tourist. Some years ago I helped a pair of American tourist that had just been robbed while sitting in a cafe at the San Telmo Flea market. I live in the Constitution neighborhood of BA not the safest. One day I was waiting for a bus right in front the train station. The woman in front of me was talking on her phone. Suddenly, a well dressed middle age man walked up to her snatched the phone from her hand and after falling down got up and took off running. The woman took off after him, I followed in pursuit and the man in front of the woman joined the chase. The thief ran to the station probably thinking he could blend in with the crowds of commuters. I started yelling "Policia !!!".. Then one of the Black Senegalese street vendors saw three people chasing this one guy.
He got up and grabbed the thief by the back of his collar and brought him down right away. The police were quickly on the scene. I started to walk back to my bus stop. I took a quick glance back at the scene as the police were placing the thief in a police car. The man looked dazed and confused and his face was visibly swollen. It was obvious that he had gotten a beating by the bystanders who had taken offense at the thief.
If you have a minute do a YouTube search for Pungas. It might protect you from becoming a victim.

 

[FLEggs]

or Chorros or motochorros as many drive by phone grabs are on motos.