Crime under lockdown: the impact of COVID-19 on citizen security in the city of Buenos Aires
- Autores
- Pérez Vincent, Santiago M.; Schargrodsky, Ernesto Santiago; García Mejía, Mauricio
- Año de publicación
- 2021
- Idioma
- inglés
- Tipo de recurso
- artículo
- Estado
- versión publicada
- Descripción
- This paper studies the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown on criminal activity in the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Following quarantine restrictions, we find a large, significant, robust, and immediate decline in property crime reported to official agencies, police arrests, and crime reported in victimization surveys. We observe no significant change in homicides, and a significant increase in arrests for “resistance to authorities”. The decrease in criminal activity was greater in business and transportation areas, but still large in commercial and residential areas (including informal settlements). After the sharp and immediate fall, crime recovered but, by the end of 2020, it had not reached its initial levels. The arrest data additionally shows a reduction in the distance from the detainee's address to the crime location, and a fall in the number of detainees from outside the City of Buenos Aires. Crime became more local as mobility was restricted. Policy Implications We find no evidence that the reduction in the number of detainees from outside the City of Buenos Aires led to a displacement of crimeto suburban areas. This result aligns with the hypothesis that focalized place-based interventions have the potential to reduce overall crime rates. Moreover, the increase in arrests for "resistance to authorities" at the checkpoints set up during the lockdown shows that the enforcement of mobility restrictions can cause frictions between citizens and police, negatively affecting police's legitimacy. We also find that the increased government presence for the provision of health and social services in informal settlements during the pandemic led, as a positive externality, to an additional decrease in crime.
Fil: Pérez Vincent, Santiago M.. Inter American Development Bank; Estados Unidos
Fil: Schargrodsky, Ernesto Santiago. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Torcuato Di Tella; Argentina
Fil: García Mejía, Mauricio. Inter American Development Bank; Estados Unidos - Materia
-
ARGENTINA
CITIZEN SECURITY
CRIME
DISPLACEMENT
LOCKDOWN
COVID-19 - Nivel de accesibilidad
- acceso abierto
- Condiciones de uso
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ar/
- Repositorio
- Institución
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
- OAI Identificador
- oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/161342
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Crime under lockdown: the impact of COVID-19 on citizen security in the city of Buenos AiresPérez Vincent, Santiago M.Schargrodsky, Ernesto SantiagoGarcía Mejía, MauricioARGENTINACITIZEN SECURITYCRIMEDISPLACEMENTLOCKDOWNCOVID-19https://purl.org/becyt/ford/5.2https://purl.org/becyt/ford/5This paper studies the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown on criminal activity in the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Following quarantine restrictions, we find a large, significant, robust, and immediate decline in property crime reported to official agencies, police arrests, and crime reported in victimization surveys. We observe no significant change in homicides, and a significant increase in arrests for “resistance to authorities”. The decrease in criminal activity was greater in business and transportation areas, but still large in commercial and residential areas (including informal settlements). After the sharp and immediate fall, crime recovered but, by the end of 2020, it had not reached its initial levels. The arrest data additionally shows a reduction in the distance from the detainee's address to the crime location, and a fall in the number of detainees from outside the City of Buenos Aires. Crime became more local as mobility was restricted. Policy Implications We find no evidence that the reduction in the number of detainees from outside the City of Buenos Aires led to a displacement of crimeto suburban areas. This result aligns with the hypothesis that focalized place-based interventions have the potential to reduce overall crime rates. Moreover, the increase in arrests for "resistance to authorities" at the checkpoints set up during the lockdown shows that the enforcement of mobility restrictions can cause frictions between citizens and police, negatively affecting police's legitimacy. We also find that the increased government presence for the provision of health and social services in informal settlements during the pandemic led, as a positive externality, to an additional decrease in crime.Fil: Pérez Vincent, Santiago M.. Inter American Development Bank; Estados UnidosFil: Schargrodsky, Ernesto Santiago. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Torcuato Di Tella; ArgentinaFil: García Mejía, Mauricio. Inter American Development Bank; Estados UnidosJohn Wiley & Sons Inc.2021-08info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/11336/161342Pérez Vincent, Santiago M.; Schargrodsky, Ernesto Santiago; García Mejía, Mauricio; Crime under lockdown: the impact of COVID-19 on citizen security in the city of Buenos Aires; John Wiley & Sons Inc.; Criminology and Public Policy; 20; 3; 8-2021; 463-4921538-64731745-9133CONICET DigitalCONICETenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1745-9133.12555info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1111/1745-9133.12555info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ar/reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas2025-09-29T09:54:08Zoai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/161342instacron:CONICETInstitucionalhttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/oai/requestdasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:34982025-09-29 09:54:08.353CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicasfalse |
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv |
Crime under lockdown: the impact of COVID-19 on citizen security in the city of Buenos Aires |
title |
Crime under lockdown: the impact of COVID-19 on citizen security in the city of Buenos Aires |
spellingShingle |
Crime under lockdown: the impact of COVID-19 on citizen security in the city of Buenos Aires Pérez Vincent, Santiago M. ARGENTINA CITIZEN SECURITY CRIME DISPLACEMENT LOCKDOWN COVID-19 |
title_short |
Crime under lockdown: the impact of COVID-19 on citizen security in the city of Buenos Aires |
title_full |
Crime under lockdown: the impact of COVID-19 on citizen security in the city of Buenos Aires |
title_fullStr |
Crime under lockdown: the impact of COVID-19 on citizen security in the city of Buenos Aires |
title_full_unstemmed |
Crime under lockdown: the impact of COVID-19 on citizen security in the city of Buenos Aires |
title_sort |
Crime under lockdown: the impact of COVID-19 on citizen security in the city of Buenos Aires |
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv |
Pérez Vincent, Santiago M. Schargrodsky, Ernesto Santiago García Mejía, Mauricio |
author |
Pérez Vincent, Santiago M. |
author_facet |
Pérez Vincent, Santiago M. Schargrodsky, Ernesto Santiago García Mejía, Mauricio |
author_role |
author |
author2 |
Schargrodsky, Ernesto Santiago García Mejía, Mauricio |
author2_role |
author author |
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv |
ARGENTINA CITIZEN SECURITY CRIME DISPLACEMENT LOCKDOWN COVID-19 |
topic |
ARGENTINA CITIZEN SECURITY CRIME DISPLACEMENT LOCKDOWN COVID-19 |
purl_subject.fl_str_mv |
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/5.2 https://purl.org/becyt/ford/5 |
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv |
This paper studies the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown on criminal activity in the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Following quarantine restrictions, we find a large, significant, robust, and immediate decline in property crime reported to official agencies, police arrests, and crime reported in victimization surveys. We observe no significant change in homicides, and a significant increase in arrests for “resistance to authorities”. The decrease in criminal activity was greater in business and transportation areas, but still large in commercial and residential areas (including informal settlements). After the sharp and immediate fall, crime recovered but, by the end of 2020, it had not reached its initial levels. The arrest data additionally shows a reduction in the distance from the detainee's address to the crime location, and a fall in the number of detainees from outside the City of Buenos Aires. Crime became more local as mobility was restricted. Policy Implications We find no evidence that the reduction in the number of detainees from outside the City of Buenos Aires led to a displacement of crimeto suburban areas. This result aligns with the hypothesis that focalized place-based interventions have the potential to reduce overall crime rates. Moreover, the increase in arrests for "resistance to authorities" at the checkpoints set up during the lockdown shows that the enforcement of mobility restrictions can cause frictions between citizens and police, negatively affecting police's legitimacy. We also find that the increased government presence for the provision of health and social services in informal settlements during the pandemic led, as a positive externality, to an additional decrease in crime. Fil: Pérez Vincent, Santiago M.. Inter American Development Bank; Estados Unidos Fil: Schargrodsky, Ernesto Santiago. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Torcuato Di Tella; Argentina Fil: García Mejía, Mauricio. Inter American Development Bank; Estados Unidos |
description |
This paper studies the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown on criminal activity in the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Following quarantine restrictions, we find a large, significant, robust, and immediate decline in property crime reported to official agencies, police arrests, and crime reported in victimization surveys. We observe no significant change in homicides, and a significant increase in arrests for “resistance to authorities”. The decrease in criminal activity was greater in business and transportation areas, but still large in commercial and residential areas (including informal settlements). After the sharp and immediate fall, crime recovered but, by the end of 2020, it had not reached its initial levels. The arrest data additionally shows a reduction in the distance from the detainee's address to the crime location, and a fall in the number of detainees from outside the City of Buenos Aires. Crime became more local as mobility was restricted. Policy Implications We find no evidence that the reduction in the number of detainees from outside the City of Buenos Aires led to a displacement of crimeto suburban areas. This result aligns with the hypothesis that focalized place-based interventions have the potential to reduce overall crime rates. Moreover, the increase in arrests for "resistance to authorities" at the checkpoints set up during the lockdown shows that the enforcement of mobility restrictions can cause frictions between citizens and police, negatively affecting police's legitimacy. We also find that the increased government presence for the provision of health and social services in informal settlements during the pandemic led, as a positive externality, to an additional decrease in crime. |
publishDate |
2021 |
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv |
2021-08 |
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501 info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo |
format |
article |
status_str |
publishedVersion |
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv |
http://hdl.handle.net/11336/161342 Pérez Vincent, Santiago M.; Schargrodsky, Ernesto Santiago; García Mejía, Mauricio; Crime under lockdown: the impact of COVID-19 on citizen security in the city of Buenos Aires; John Wiley & Sons Inc.; Criminology and Public Policy; 20; 3; 8-2021; 463-492 1538-6473 1745-9133 CONICET Digital CONICET |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/11336/161342 |
identifier_str_mv |
Pérez Vincent, Santiago M.; Schargrodsky, Ernesto Santiago; García Mejía, Mauricio; Crime under lockdown: the impact of COVID-19 on citizen security in the city of Buenos Aires; John Wiley & Sons Inc.; Criminology and Public Policy; 20; 3; 8-2021; 463-492 1538-6473 1745-9133 CONICET Digital CONICET |
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv |
eng |
language |
eng |
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1745-9133.12555 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1111/1745-9133.12555 |
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ar/ |
eu_rights_str_mv |
openAccess |
rights_invalid_str_mv |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ar/ |
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv |
application/pdf application/pdf |
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv |
John Wiley & Sons Inc. |
publisher.none.fl_str_mv |
John Wiley & Sons Inc. |
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv |
reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET) instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas |
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CONICET Digital (CONICET) |
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CONICET Digital (CONICET) |
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Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas |
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CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas |
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dasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.ar |
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13.070432 |