Crime sensation and real crime! opinion

[RachinBA]

http://www.clarin.com/inseguridad/mataron-perro-numero_0_753524860.html
this happened a block down from my office last thursday. It was pretty scary as we were out on the street having a smoke at the time and saw the commotion.
I've been herre 4 1/2 years now and the only thing that has happened to me was having my wallet pickpocketed in the subte, but I've heard some pretty bad stories from friends of mine lately and yesterday one of our employees was robbed by motochorros in Palermo, they couldn't get her bag free at once so they kicked her around a bit first.
It's definitely getting worse.

 

[demokritos]

Yes, I'm from the USA but lived in Argentina many years. NO, I don't believe that in comparable areas in those cities your chances of being mugged are higher.

Remember you can NOT go by statistics you see published in the paper in Buenos Aires. The big difference is in the USA, almost EVERY single person that gets mugged reports it. Without question. So the statistics are accurate.

In Buenos Aires the statistics are NOT accurate. Maybe 5 out of 100 people actually report the crime. If that. In Buenos Aires, I'm not hanging out in sketchy areas, just as when I go to Chicago, Baltimore, San Francisco, Houston, etc. do I hang out in sketchy areas.

I don't think it's a good idea in either places to talk about odds of getting shot because the risks of that in either country I think is very remote. But if you are talking about muggings.....your chances are much higher in Buenos Aires when you account for reality.

You can't go by statistics in Argentina. Just about ANY # you see the government put out is tainted and not true. You can only go by reality.

I 100% agree that you can't trust non-violent crime statistics published by the government. However, the same probably goes for most major US cities. If you think city governments don't manipulate those stats, I have some excellent beachfront property in Arizona to sell you. As lamarque pointed out in another thread, intentional homicide is another story, and I believe those statistics are accurate.

I agree that your chances of being robbed in Buenos Aires are probably higher. Crime in the US is incredibly high in specific communities, and much lower in others; if you're born lucky, it can be invisible to you. And I think what you said later in this thread about the crimes most commonly occurring about being cell phone theft, purse snatching, car windows smashed, is really key. I've had my phone stolen and I've been pick pocketed (not here). It sucks, but it's not something I'm going to carry around for the rest of my life. Being held up with guns in your own house, or violently attacked, is a completely different category of crime.

Personally, I feel safer living here than I did in Philadelphia, Baltimore, etc., but I understand that other people don't. A lot of places feel safe until you or someone you know personally is attacked.

 

[bomber]

You might have lived in Buenos Aires for a year. I lived there for almost a decade. My kids were born there, I still have family that lives there.

My porteño friends have been here all their lives.

I'm not trying to paint Buenos Aires as a super dangerous place because I don't think that is the case. I think the main point people are making is crime is definitely on the uptrend there and I think we can all agree almost none of the actual people getting robbed/mugged are reporting it. And even then, the statistics of how many robberies there in Argentina are quite bad. So imagine the true #.

Yes, on the rise perhaps, but nowhere near as bad as some comments in this thread would have some believe. Obviously some very unlucky people, but with another group of people (ie. people I know) it appears the exact opposite, hence truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

 

[fifs2]

My porteño friends have been here all their lives.


Yes, on the rise perhaps, but nowhere near as bad as some comments in this thread would have some believe. Obviously some very unlucky people, but with another group of people (ie. people I know) it appears the exact opposite, hence truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

One upmanship re crime is so sad and depressing..unless you think the previous posters - who are here longer and whose friends and relatives have suffered crime - are inventing their stories just be happy you haven't but don't be so complacent as to think you are immune to such or won't in the future. Not wishing you ill will, just think discounting real people's experiences is dismissing them in some way even if that isnt your intent...
From own experience I never thought I'd ever be the victim of blackmail..happened in Bsas and as shocked as I was I ended up hearing many "my family have also been blackmailed " stories from locals...At this point I feel it's never say never in Bsas, for good and for bad..this city never ceases to surprise!

 

[bomber]

One upmanship re crime is so sad and depressing..

Hmm, so why did you target me with that comment, and not the person who did the same to me in the first place??
(though I understand it's a forum, so no big deal to me)

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And outside of that, don't know how any part of what I said discounted anyone's experience. First lesson of forums: Just read what is written, don't assume anything outside of that. Too many people do that, both here and on other forums, and leads to all kind of BS which could be avoided.

 

[BROOKLYN]

is avenida rivadavia a crime hot spot?? Im looking to book a hotel room near the spinneto shopping. Any warnings should I know about?? thanks

 

[lamarque]

One upmanship re crime is so sad and depressing..unless you think the previous posters - who are here longer and whose friends and relatives have suffered crime - are inventing their stories just be happy you haven't but don't be so complacent as to think you are immune to such or won't in the future. Not wishing you ill will, just think discounting real people's experiences is dismissing them in some way even if that isnt your intent...
From own experience I never thought I'd ever be the victim of blackmail..happened in Bsas and as shocked as I was I ended up hearing many "my family have also been blackmailed " stories from locals...At this point I feel it's never say never in Bsas, for good and for bad..this city never ceases to surprise!

Fifs is true everybody can suffer this bad situations in any place on earth, when that happen to one it make change the perception of that place, people has suffer bad thinks and people not in this city, is difficult for anyone to put in the position of the others, people that has pass in one place immune to crime will see all safer than it is in the other hand people that has suffer some crime will see all darker than it is, the point of the thread is to discuss and people have to realize including myself that the true is always in the middle, the other topic was how much of the perception is due to the media and how much of it is about something that some one has really suffer.
One example of perception for me is that I got robbed 2 times 1 knife point and the other pickpocket in the last year in Europe, and my girlfriend got stolen 2 time in Paris in a period of 2 month that she stay there with me (that not counting almost 6 bikes in 2 month of living in Amsterdam and 1 house break i didn't loose nothing of value here but my housemates did still the guy was not armed with a gun was armed with a steel bar so i didn't scare that much as i would have done if he had a gun, anyway I know that mainly in amsterdam more than pick pocketing, lot of bikes stolen and some than some other break house without so much violence from some drugged guy struggling for money is a safe city overall), the city’s were i got successfully stolen (Roma and Paris) win a very bad perception in my head after that, but I know that my experience make me feel that this city’s are unsafer than the reality, now a days I know better that perception is not always reality and I know that europe beside my personal experience is a safe place with some bad places, that is normal in any big metropolis. The point is that people when suffer some bad episode see think darker than they are the same when the case is the opposite that why is interesting to see every point of view.

 

[fifs2]

Hmm, so why did you target me with that comment, and not the person who did the same to me in the first place??
(though I understand it's a forum, so no big deal to me)

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And outside of that, don't know how any part of what I said discounted anyone's experience. First lesson of forums: Just read what is written, don't assume anything outside of that. Too many people do that, both here and on other forums, and leads to all kind of BS which could be avoided.

Not meant to target you bomber maybe just a weariness at many posters on many threads who havent suffered crime but somehow insinuate that those who have like elqueso are somehow desperately stupid enough to hang about dangerous places or are incredibly unlucky. Its a numbers game and bsas is increasingly weakening the odds. The stories arent posted for scaremongering but to forewarn...which is to be firearmed..may we all live as such.

 

[bomber]

The point is that people when suffer some bad episode see think darker than they are the same when the case is the opposite that why is interesting to see every point of view.

And nobody has said or suggested otherwise.

Why don't we stick to the subject being discussed, probably better all round, no?

 

[bomber]

... or are incredibly unlucky.

Umm, they would be incredibly unlucky to suffer some of the things read in this thread, no? I certainly wouldn't call them lucky.