Muggings at doorsteps, burglaries, murders. Thieves on motorcycles or kicking down doors. Insecurity is everywhere and some cities are climbing the podium of fear.
According to a recent report on security, Rosario, Mar del Plata, Villa Gesell, La Plata and Córdoba are in the top five of the most unsafe and most violent places in Argentina.
The first, no less, is the bloodiest: last year Rosario had 259 violent deaths, according to data collected by Santa Fe OSP Public Security Observatory. The murder rate in the country was 4.2 and Rosario increased it fivefold with 22 out of every 100,000 inhabitants.
In a context of extreme violence it is also not surprising that it is considered the most unsafe city in Argentina. According to statistics from a commercial report prepared by Verisure’s Security Observatory, Rosario accounted, over the total households and businesses analysed, for 5.2 percent of crimes, at the top position in the scale of vulnerable areas.
According to these data, the greatest number of events were on business days, with less crime activity at weekends. “It was also observed that burglaries were mostly at nighttime, and robberies at businesses during the day,” the report specifies.
The situation in Rosario is so severe that even police station jails are overflowing at unprecedented levels. This week, some 35 detainees at the second police station in the city centre were transferred to jails in Coronda and Piñero.
The decision has to do with the so-called 'emptying plan' of sections given the growing overpopulation. The measure, adopted by Santa Fe Province Governor Maximiliano Pullaro, is aimed at many police officers going back on the streets to stop taking care of detainees.
Lucía Masneri, secretary of Criminal Affairs in Santa Fe, acknowledged this week that “the goal of the plan is for the police to be able to recover their effectiveness on the streets.”
The report on the most unsafe cities was prepared by Verisure’s Alarm Central monitoring its clients from across the country 24/7. The data is compiled from both homes and businesses, and may represent anything from actual attempted or frustrated robberies, intrusions and, to a lesser extent, other kinds of situations such as fires or medical emergencies.
“We know that, cooperating with this type of information, from relevant security companies and public institutions, we can help protect people, their families and property. And that is our commitment: given our expertise in security, to make use of data and analytics assets, to continue developing reports which help us work by focusing on offering the greatest feeling of protection to people,” explained Carlos Beltrán Rubinos, director of operations.
Behind Rosario are two of the most visited cities by tourists these days: Mar del Plata and Villa Gesell. The work highlights that these areas had more crime activity, “being especially vulnerable in properties considered second homes which are empty most of the year.”
Insecurity in Mar del Plata is not new. Over the last few weeks, residents of Parque Camet blocked Ruta 11 after a brutal attack suffered by a nurse and the murder of a night watchman at the fruit port.
The woman, aged 33, was shot on February 1 while riding her bicycle on a bike lane. A few days later, and a few blocks away, 55-year-old Jorge Alberto Cabrera was gunned down with two shots.
Following the rankings, the other cities are La Plata (5.04 percent) and Córdoba (4.8 percent). Buenos Aires City is one position below, accounting for 3.4 percent of crime throughout the year.
“The [City] neighbourhoods with the greatest crime rates were Palermo and San Telmo. On the other hand, Núñez, Devoto and San Cristóbal were the ones with the lowest number of crimes,” the report points out.
Santa Fe Province recorded 3.3 percent of all events, with Mendozaat 3.04 percent, coming in seventh place of the most vulnerable areas of the country.
Lastly, the list is closed off with two cities in Buenos Aires Province: Tandil (2.8 percent) and Bahía Blanca (1.77 percent).
The report does not include any city in Greater Buenos Aires, where several violent and tragic episodes occurred over the last few months.
La Plata is in the fourth position of most unsafe cities in the country, according to the report. It is also one of the most popular choices for criminals living in nearby towns, such as Lanús and Florencio Varela.
In recent days local police also managed to thwart a gang of Chilean thieves committing burglaries and muggings at doorsteps in the capital of Buenos Aires Province.
Those accused had tried to rob a house and were apprehended after being chased down the La Plata-Buenos Aires Motorway.
Comments