Crime in BsAs - anyone?

[John.St]

Respondents = 121

Crime .................. Number Percentage
Pockets picked ............ 33 ...... 27.3
Burglary ........................ 6 ........ 5.0
Theft, other ................. 25 ...... 20.7
Robbery, other ........... 12 ........ 9.9

Armed robbery ............. 9 ........ 7.4
Stabbed ....................... 1 ........ 0.8
Shot ............................. 1 ........ 0.8

Other crimes ............... 14 ...... 11.6

The percentage sums up to more than 100 because we are counting number of crimes, not number of victims.

Fortunately the number of dangerous crimes are only 11 or 9 per cent.
Not good, could be worse.

Number non-victims .. 58 ...... 47.9
Number victims ......... 63 ...... 52.1

Number of crimes .. 101
Crimes per victim ... 1.6

Some of us either live or move in dangerous neighborhoods or they look like easy victims - impossible to know which.

 

[Hellek]

Crimes per victim raises with the time somebody spends here. If you are here half a year, you have good chances to remain without being touched by crime. If you are here 10 years, you are likely to have been victim to pickpockets, theft and maybe even robbery.

In the stabbed/shot results I would not trust unless acompanied by an explanation since they are just 1 each. Anyway, the unluckiest victims won't be able to report anyway.

Anyway, just a few stories of friends of mine:
A very close friend of mine got robbed at gunpoint two times, shot at once (salidera bancaria) and beaten up twice, in one of the cases left unconcious, in the other only mildly injured. Happened in a timespan of 20 years though, the last incidents dating more than 5 years back.

A friend from salsa clases is ex police officer and now running a personal protection business. Four years ago 3 guys tried to steal his car when he was near the villa in the south of the barrio barracas. As retired police officer he always carries his gun with him so he fired 8 shots at one of the attackers and himself got injured by glass shards flying through his car due to the impacts of the other 2 attacker's bullets who hit the inside mirror.

Another friend of mine had her Blackberry and laptop robbed at one occasion (in Palermo), a few months later another cell phone (in Lanús, GBA sur, where I got robbed as well). All in 2010.

Anyway, a lot of that cases never appear in official statistics because people just don't report it with the police (only if their wallet with their ID gets stolen, etc. where they need to file a report). I did not file a report either, eventhough I almost inmediately found some police officers who tried to find the robbers with me. When I asked, they told me "your decision" on whether to file a formal report (denuncia), but in a way that made it clear that it would be lost time.

 

[kceej]

How about the frequency of the same crime? My partner and I have been pickpocketed three times since December on the Subte D Line; both wallets gone, and a small digital camera. The latest occurred yesterday afternoon.

 

[Guillo]

You got pickpocketed 3 times in a month and still haven't learned to watch over your wallet when on a crowded subte?

 

[jenh]

I really have to comment here, especially after seeing the post that someone was pickpocketed 3 times on Subte D.

I have lived in a number of big cities before coming to BA (Washington DC, London, San Francisco, Brussels, Paris, Philadelphia, Atlanta) and traveled all over the place. The only place I have ever been pickpocketed was in London, and it was a typical scam (similar to the bird poo scam, but some people came up to me shaking open maps in my face and asking for directions as someone else lifted my wallet out of an open tote bag).

Last week, I was at a happy hour and met a bunch of American students and their professor. The professor told me that ALMOST EVERYONE in the group had already been pickpocketed or robbed. They just got here in January.

I have to say that much of this amounts to people not being careful and/or aware of their surroundings. So, at the risk of repeating advice that is often repeated, I will give you my handful of tips:

1. Americans often don't realize how loud they speak. If you are out with other Americans, keep your voice lower and don't call attention to yourself.

2. If you want to avoid being a target on the Subte, put away your phone and try reading a Spanish language book or magazine. This will not only make you look more local, but aren't you here to learn Spanish anyway?

3. Instead of those longer cross-body handbags, I carry a clutch that I grip in my hand. No one can slice it off or cut it open, and at a restaurant or cafe, it can sit on my lap. If I carry a larger bag, it has a short strap, goes over my shoulder, and I can grip the front of the strap in my hand so that it could not be ripped off of me. No matter what, every bag should zip, or should have the important stuff in zippered pockets. If carrying a laptop, put it in one of those zip cases and THEN put it into your bigger bag so that your silver Mac isn't conspicuously sticking out.

4. Try not to look lost/pull out your iPhone on street corners (although I do this occasionally - better to be a theft target than completely lost)

5. When it is dark or not busy, travel in groups, or if traveling alone, take a taxi or a bus that goes almost directly to your house. The benefit of the bus over the Subte at night is that you don't risk walking alone through a station.

6. For the guys - a tip from some guy friends here is to carry your cash in a money clip separate from your wallet with cards/id/etc. That way, if you are robbed, you can pull the money from your clip and hand that over. You don't lose your cards/ID/etc.

7. Have not personally tried this, but a former co-worker did and avoided being shot. She was robbed at gunpoint for her backpack. As she took it off, she unzipped it and threw it at the ground so that the things all scattered. As the robber had to then gather the stuff, she was able to turn and run. That was in Philadelphia, not Buenos Aires.


Rather than debating whether or not there is crime here, it would be nice if we could all share tips, as well as sharing places (restaurants, bars, etc.) where people feel pickpocketing is more prevalent. For example, in London, the areas with a lot of pickpockets have little signs saying "Please guard your belongings in this area as there have been many reports of pickpocketing in this zone" or something similar. I think reminders like that at some restaurants and cafes in tourist areas would go a long way!

 

[John.St]

How about the frequency of the same crime?

The board software has limitations to how one can define a poll.

This limits the scope of this poll to count how many persons have been victims plus a limited selection (max. 10 choices - board limit) of which crimes they have been victims of.

There is no way one can count number of ocurrencies per person, thus no way to calculate frequency.

 

[John.St]

You got pickpocketed 3 times in a month and still haven't learned to watch over your wallet when on a crowded subte?

A good solution is not to carry a wallet.

See http://baexpats.org/expat-life/5744-carrying-large-sums-cash-how.html#post34442

 

[John.St]

Rather than debating whether or not there is crime here, it would be nice if we could all share tips,

Give the thief a chair to take with him: http://baexpats.org/expat-life/5607-securing-your-bag-restaurants.html#post33416

I also use a simple key ring to secure the double zipper on my backpack - makes it pretty difficult to open while walking.

 

[John.St]

Before you answer in the poll, do read the first post with definitions and a short explanation of why it must be your personal experience only you report: http://baexpats.org/expat-life/5805-crime-bsas-anyone.html#post34973

 

[kceej]

The first two incidents occurred almost back to back, during our first two weeks in BsAs in December. We haven't bought replacement wallets. We purchased a man-bag to carry all our belongings. The incident the other day, the pickpocket managed to unzip a camera case that was attached to my partner's belt, took the camera, but left money (about AR$100+) that was also in the case. New lesson learned: don't attach things to your belt.
We've lived in Kansas City, Washington DC, Nicaragua, Panama, and now here. We've travelled all over the world, and this is the first time and place we've ever been pickpocketed.
Thanks for the tips. We follow most of them and reminders are always a good idea.