Crime sensation and real crime! opinion

[fifs2]

While not the perfect solution , I am having installed a security door by Pentagono. I am also having an alarm installed by Lojack. Both expensive options , but it makes my wife feel better. Either option in itself cannot prevent you from becoming a victim , but adds some peace of mind.

Couldn't agree more..Went back recently to visit the people who bought our house last year - in spite of it being more secure than fort knox when we bought it they had added a fortified front door and entirely caged in the kitchen patio which can only be accessed by climbing over 5 or so gardens with high walls behind it..the new owners are both lawyers and said that knowing what they know as a result of their profession it was the only way they could sleep at night ...whatever it takes for peace of mind makes sense to me as long as we all accept that no amount of money or fortifications will protect us completely if destiny so decides.

 

[Gringoboy]

I wouldn't say that Olivos was hell exactly. It's a pleasant area and for the most part, fairly peaceful.
But it certainly doesn't preclude any sort of crime whatsoever.
That minister, Garre has recently been quoted as saying that house robberies are on the increase because more people are hoarding cash in their houses (sic).
At first I regarded this comment as yet another idiotic proclamation from the ivory tower of power; but the more you think about it...........................

 

[cbonanni]

Almost like an invitation to robbers to be more active in breaking in houses because Garre said there is more money in them. What an idiot.

 

[dennisr]

Not so sure I understand, panic alarm connected to local police?

http://www.ambito.com/noticia.asp?id=649780
http://translate.google.com/transla...TF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http://www.ambito.com/

 

[cbonanni]

The lojack system has magnetic contacts on the door and motion sensors around the house. It is connected via secure radio frequency to an call center who then calls police. There is a panic mode , if you put in a certain code , they know you are in trouble , i.e , if someone forces you at gun point into your house. Also a link to medical and fire. Not fool proof , but along with the reinforced door , hopefully a deterrent. As to police response time , that is a completely unknown component.

 

[earlyretirement]

I think nico's point is that your odds of getting randomly shot are probably a lot lower than being a victim of a targeted robbery. Which unfortunately seems not uncommon here. So in the devil's choice, probably better to take your chances of being a victim of random shootings than live in a society where you need to worry seriously about being a targeted victim.

Anyone that really tries to play off that your chances of randomly getting shot on the street in a major city in the USA are likely is being totally sensationalistic.

Maybe if you are in some very sketchy area but in nice areas of most major metropolitan areas of the USA, your chances of getting shot are TOTALLY slim to NONE.

The USA for the most part is totally safe, especially in nice areas. Of course every city has their bad parts or maybe sketchy areas where people sell drugs, etc. But take a comparable area like Recoleta or Palermo and look at the true amount of muggings there and compare it to another major city in the USA and it's like night and day.

Your chances of being mugged or especially shot in the USA are so very remote. I'll give you that your chances of getting shot in Buenos Aires are very very low since not too many carry handguns but the chances of getting mugged are so much higher in Buenos Aires.

The vast majority of the crime in Buenos Aires is not reported at all to the police for reasons Citygirl correctly mentioned. They are worthless there. So you can't even go by reported statistics.

I think anyone that tries to claim crime hasn't gotten worse in Buenos Aires over the years is totally deluded. Most locals I know had something happen to them or someone in their family.

 

[bomber]

And I think anyone that tries to claim Buenos Aires as anywhere near the worst city in the world is quite deluded, or merely hasn't experienced many cities in the world. There are places where you have to live in walled compounds, often with a security guard 24/7 at your gate. And where car jackings are quite common so even in your car there's no safety. BA isn't even close to that.

And yes, the majority of the US is much safer, but let's talk about cities (since BA is the issue, not Argentina all over), and while in the "dangerous" part of BA you're likely to get robbed, there are parts of some cities in the US where you're just as likely to be killed as well as robbed. And raped if you're a woman. I'm sorry, but there are locations in the US where you would not catch me living in a million years over any place in BA, and this coming from someone who's lived in some pretty dangerous places in the world over the years. No war zones as yet though.

 

[earlyretirement]

And I think anyone that tries to claim Buenos Aires as anywhere near the worst city in the world is quite deluded, )

Absolutely I'd totally agree with this statement. Buenos Aires is far from the worst cities in the world when it comes to crime. Much of South America is much worse. Or Africa or the Middle East as well as other places.

It's certainly not the worst either. I happen to really love the city and enjoy it tremendously but have to call it like it is.

 

[nicoenarg]

Absolutely I'd totally agree with this statement. Buenos Aires is far from the worst cities in the world when it comes to crime. Much of South America is much worse. Or Africa or the Middle East as well as other places.

It's certainly not the worst either. I happen to really love the city and enjoy it tremendously but have to call it like it is.

I agree with your assessment of Buenos Aires.

Its surprising that people automatically assume that if someone criticizes for Buenos Aires for having a little too much crime, then they must be comparing it with other cities and assuming that its the worst.

Buenos Aires is not the worst city in the world but then again, we are not concerned with Lagos or some other craphole. We are living in Buenos Aires and it doesn't matter whether there are worse cities than Buenos Aires out there. What matters is that we live here and the crime is getting worse here. Period.

As for the Middle East. I don't know what cities you're referring to but Dubai and Riyadh (pre 1995) were pretty safe compared to Buenos Aires. But then again, safety there means compromising on a lot of other freedoms and for that I am thankful that I left those cities and that now I'm in Buenos Aires.

Like you said, the fact remains that crime in Buenos Aires is worse, when it comes to muggings and robberies, as compared to major cities in the US (and I'd venture on to say, in other developed countries). And that is that.

 

[earlyretirement]

I totally agree with you nicoenarg. Sometimes it's as if this board has an "us vs. them" attitude. I remember I posted back in 2010 and I stopped reading/posting to the board for a long time because I'd post something that someone might not have liked and the post either took forever to get edited or sometimes even deleted.

I also remember a few years ago posts by some people saying things were getting worse and saying how destructive CFK was for Argentina and people defending her so vigorously. Well, those people seem to have disappeared or at least now I'm sure reality was setting in for them.

I moved down to Buenos Aires shortly after the last crash and I can tell you that definitely things feel worse. More of my friends experience muggings now vs. then.

I also agree with your point about not caring how other places are or are not more dangerous. It's Buenos Aires (or Argentina) that I'm spending time in so that's all that matters. I don't care what crime may be like in another place.

But I still laugh at those that try to paint the USA as this dangerous place where there is lots of crime. And I'd say if I had a friend that witnessed 3 murders in the USA, I'd tell them they are hanging out in the wrong parts of town because that just isn't common.

I've been to 45 States in the USA and I can accurately tell you that at no time have I ever felt threatened.

Buenos Aires (and Argentina in general) is a wonderful place and none of us is trying to argue with that. The only thing people are saying is muggings and robberies are very high compared to other World Capital cities as Nico mentioned.