Reflections On Crime.

[Dublin2BuenosAires]

Came home from dinner one night with the Mrs. and some creepy , scraggy guy was sitting on our apartment door steps. Moving fast , entered the building as the guy was distracted with his ice Cream. Once inside with the door closed , he started yelling and banging on the door. Rode up the elevator and called the police. ( btw we live in Olivos.) Cops were here in under 5 minutes , he was not polite with them and in under two minutes was in the back seat , off to the station.

Still see him around our hood. Nice response from the cops . Bad response from the courts , or whatever. He was out the next day.

Pay the police a decent wage and they will attempt to do their duty. But at what effort , if the courts release them almost right away.

What would he have been charged with which would warrant an immediate custodial sentence? Aggressive door banging? Being impolite in the back of a police car? Step trespassing?

Hopefully we aren't locking people up without good reason.

 

[cbonanni]

What would he have been charged with which would warrant an immediate custodial sentence? Aggressive door banging? Being impolite in the back of a police car? Step trespassing?

Hopefully we aren't locking people up without good reason.

You are right. Cannot just send people off to jail for being assholes. Jail should be a punishment to keep people from committing crime. This individual did not commit a crime , beside panhandling and disturbing the peace. Hardly jail worthy. Perhaps he needs mental health care. Or some social rehabilitation to reintroduce him to a working society. However in many instances these individuals commit serious crimes and are released right away.

I am just glad he did not become violent and attempt to harm me or the Mrs.

I assume my point was that I was impressed with the prompt police response.

Thank you making your point and allowing me to be more clear.

 

[Dublin2BuenosAires]

You are right. Cannot just send people off to jail for being assholes. Jail should be a punishment to keep people from committing crime. This individual did not commit a crime , beside panhandling and disturbing the peace. Hardly jail worthy. Perhaps he needs mental health care. Or some social rehabilitation to reintroduce him to a working society. However in many instances these individuals commit serious crimes and are released right away.

I am just glad he did not become violent and attempt to harm me or the Mrs.

I assume my point was that I was impressed with the prompt police response.

Thank you making your point and allowing me to be more clear.

Well, the main thing is that no one got hurt and good that police moved him on after his aggressive behaviour.

Unfortunately prison for many can be counter productive to society. Sometimes removing someone from society, stigmatising them as a criminal and placing them amongst repeat offenders only serves to push people down the road to becoming career criminals.

Of course, there are other folks who deserve locking up and forgetting about. Interesting to see what the current hackneyed attempt at democatising the justice system will have on sentences handed out by elected judges. Populist sentences to appease the seething hoards does not sound healthy to me.

 

[El Cipayo]

I recently spend a couple of weeks in South africa and i would Say crime is about the same as a tourist. Just dont drive after daylight and spend your time in nice 'white' areas. Judging by the security there is a lot of fear

Either way today got my travel bag stolen with pasport, driverslicence, laptop, ipad and cards in a Starbucks in puerto madero. No violence and there are worse things but its a huge pain in the a.

Tommorow i will need to declare at retiro, this will be atleast interesting

 

[Yogur griego]

I recently spend a couple of weeks in South africa and i would Say crime is about the same as a tourist. Just dont drive after daylight and spend your time in nice 'white' areas. Judging by the security there is a lot of fear

Either way today got my travel bag stolen with pasport, driverslicence, laptop, ipad and cards in a Starbucks in puerto madero. No violence and there are worse things but its a huge pain in the a.

Tommorow i will need to declare at retiro, this will be atleast interesting

I am sorry to hear about that. Did they snatch the bag Barcelona-style or did they actually rob you in the sense of pointing a gun at you?

 

[El Cipayo]

I suppose barca style is sneaky, So yes. I was going to fly and my gf was sitting next to the Bags and she never noticed the bag was taken away

The girl at the counter Saw surveillance camera and it was a middle aged pair

 

[El Cipayo]

I was ordering and never Saw what happend

 

[Yogur griego]

Barcelona is infamous for its highly skilled thieves as far as making bags disappear without a trace without you noticing it is concerned. Not the armed robbery kind of thing that happened in my vicinity in Buenos Aires once. I was sitting in a cafe during the afternoon and some chorro entered the place with a weapon to actually steal a girl's laptop at gunpoint.

For two decades, I have been very skilled at (and unfortunately obsessed with) protecting my bags with the same constant level of paranoia as Stalin had during the purges. I guess I look so scary that nobody bothers to try and steal them from me. The problem is that this automatic behaviour may also create some unnecessary attention, in subte C during rush hour I probably look like a bank clerk carrying a backpack full of diamonds and Rolex watches.

I once fought with two negritos who apparently found it worth the try to attempt running off with my lousy, crumbling rucksack but were unlucky as it contained my similarly complete poverty-resembling ancient tango shoes that I love more than I have loved whatever woman in my life.

I'd say it's important for everybody to try and find a good balance. It may help to 'spread' your valuables over different bags. If you're leaving with everything to catch a flight or something, you should just take all your belongings with you to whatever place you go, even a toilet, even with a friend who promises watching your stuff. Sometimes you are just unlucky.... Some people get robbed because they were too much of a Scrooge MacDuck to take a cab to the Retiro bus station and got assaulted in front of the villa entrance. I used to walk there too, ut my usual strategy was to not approach the entrance by following the road, but crossing the bus stops that find themselves a little more away from the slum.

 

[El Cipayo]

It wouldnt have happend to me But Its Also the kind of place your not expecting this happening to you

 

[Yogur griego]

It wouldnt have happend to me But Its Also the kind of place your not expecting this happening to you

Well, if I have to be honest with you, I'd be more alert in a Starbucks in Puerto Madero (I probably know the one you're talking about pretty well) than a random cafe on Av. Corrientes or something.