Crime in BsAs - anyone?

[John.St]

Getting a little bit closer: 85 - and again 47% victims + 53% non-victims.

 

[Recoleta Carolina]

Getting a little bit closer: 85 - and again 47% victims + 53% non-victims.

Crime is very high and this is a silly poll because there are so few people to vote. In a country of around 40 million I have no idea how you could take the voting on this poll seriously.

 

[RWS]

. . . this is a silly poll because there are so few people to vote. . . .

None of us considers the poll to be determinative of crime in Bs. As. on the whole, I'm certain; but it's both interesting and somewhat indicative of the experiences of members of this forum.

 

[John.St]

Crime is very high and this is a silly poll because there are so few people to vote. In a country of around 40 million I have no idea how you could take the voting on this poll seriously.

I completely fail to understand your comment, given the clearly defined scope:

the subsection of society, which frequent baExpats

I am sure you are not suggesting that around 40 million people frequent this site.

BAexpats is a SIG, i.e. a non-representative group in itself, as almost all members are foreigners living in Argentina, and a statistically safe universe in a small SIG should be in the range of 18-20%.

AFAIK there are some 480 active members, 96 of whom will be a representative proportion, 20% being far beyond what we see in polls of the usual sort.

What does worry me (and statistics was an important part of the curriculum when I studied national economics) is that the most interested parties, the victims, show up late in the poll, where one should expect the exact opposite - the next poll will not be anonymous.

2009.08.22: 15 victims + 30 non-victims; victim % = 33.3
2009.08.25: 19 victims + 35 non-victims; victim % = 35.2
2009.08.27: 24 victims + 36 non-victims; victim % = 40.0
2009.09.03: 38 victims + 41 non-victims; victim % = 48.1
2009.09.07: 39 victims + 44 non-victims; victim % = 47.0
2009.09.08: 40 victims + 45 non-victims; victim % = 47.0
2009.09.09: 42 victims + 45 non-victims; victim % = 48.3

 

[bronx_skibum]

I found your web site because a good friend of mine suffered a taxi scam - when he went to pay the driver, driver said his 100 peso note was counterfeit. He drove him to an ATM so my friend could get some cash to pay him, and then took off with all of my friend's belongings. Two pairs of skis, ski boots, pink ski poles, ski clothing, regular clothing, etc.

My friend made a police report and looked at mug shots and is flying home this evening. I wondered if anyone would have any suggestions as to how he could proceed. Could he hire someone to keep an eye on the major pawnshops? Will the police do this? Will he ever get his belongings back?

He feels that he made a dumb mistake, but it's not clear what he could have done differently, except not take a taxi alone.

We have been in Santiago and Lima, and have suffered a few petty crimes, but nothing like having all his belongings stolen. Does anyone know if this is a common taxi scam in BA?

 

[RWS]

. . . . What does worry me (and statistics was an important part of the curriculum when I studied national economics) is that the most interested parties, the victims, show up late in the poll, where one should expect the exact opposite . . . .

Shame? Embarrassment? Studies show that victims often feel such emotions (even though we'd probably all agree that they needn't), which likely would have made them reticent to vote or post here.

 

[Neil]

I found your web site because a good friend of mine suffered a taxi scam - when he went to pay the driver, driver said his 100 peso note was counterfeit. He drove him to an ATM so my friend could get some cash to pay him, and then took off with all of my friend's belongings. Two pairs of skis, ski boots, pink ski poles, ski clothing, regular clothing, etc.

My friend made a police report and looked at mug shots and is flying home this evening. I wondered if anyone would have any suggestions as to how he could proceed. Could he hire someone to keep an eye on the major pawnshops? Will the police do this? Will he ever get his belongings back?

He feels that he made a dumb mistake, but it's not clear what he could have done differently, except not take a taxi alone.

We have been in Santiago and Lima, and have suffered a few petty crimes, but nothing like having all his belongings stolen. Does anyone know if this is a common taxi scam in BA?

It's a shame that your friend was taken by a taxi thief, yes they do exist here...!

 

[John.St]

Shame? Embarrassment? Studies show that victims often feel such emotions (even though we'd probably all agree that they needn't), which likely would have made them reticent to vote or post here.

Good idea, except the vote is anonymous. Nobody, including me, has the foggiest idea who voted what.

 

[John.St]

... took off with all of my friend's belongings. Two pairs of skis, ski boots, pink ski poles, ski clothing, regular clothing, etc. ... Could he hire someone to keep an eye on the major pawnshops? Will the police do this? Will he ever get his belongings back?

Too bad for your friend, I feel sorry for him.

That said, if you think it over for, say 12 seconds, you know he'll never see his belongings again.

Belongings marked how, to be uniquely identified by others as your friend's?

Why should the thief use one of the major pawn shops?
Numerous flee markets, 800 legal pawn shops + 5,000 illegal ones + friends and family. Hire thousands of detectives to keep an eye on them, starting less than one hour after the incident?

Cost/benefit/probability.

Does the police in any city in the world keep an eye on even the legal pawn shops, except on a regular (e.g. monthly) basis?

Insurance is his only realistic option.

 

[John.St]

I found your web site because a good friend of mine suffered a taxi scam...

A question: Did you report this as a 'Theft' or 'Other crime' in the poll?