MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

89% of Chileans feel they will be crime victims

A National Urban Survey on Citizen Safety in Chile released this week in Santiago found that more than half the population fears going out at night because of crime.

The poll, conducted by the National Statistics Institute, also found that 89% of Chileans believe they will be a victim of crime over the next twelve months and 79% feel crime rates have risen.

The findings were based on a government sponsored poll of 20,000 households from 92 communities taken at the end of 2005.

High levels of fear over crime are a relatively new phenomenon in Chile. Only 12% responding to the first national safety survey taken in 2003 thought crime was the greatest problem facing the country, compared to 42% in the latest survey. The latest survey also found that poverty and unemployment were the second and third most cited citizen concerns.

Fear about crime has led some residents to take measures more drastic than staying off the streets at night or wearing less jewellery and three out of ten report having firearms at home.

Perceptions of crime differed by gender and age. Those reporting the lowest level of fear (at 17%) were between the ages of 15 and 17, while adults over 61 felt most vulnerable to crime at night (25%). Women were also more likely to report fear of crime than men.

The greatest fear among the public is violent crime, with close to 8% responding that one member of their family had been the victim of assault. Approximately half of those incidents took place outside the home.

Within the home, 79% of those surveyed did not experience a high risk or dangerous situation over the previous 12 months, although close to nine percent did on various occasions and 12% on one occasion.

More respondents said unemployment (49%) is a principal cause of crime than those blaming the government for weak penalties (46%). Still, over three quarters rated the government response to crime as either "regular" or "bad."

This public perception of government ineptness was discussed by President Michelle Bachelet and leaders of the Senate and lower Chamber of Deputies last Monday. They decided to give citizen security concerns greater emphasis and showcased key initiatives proposed last week, including stricter probation laws, tougher penalties for serious crimes, and lighter administrative workloads for policemen.

The Chilean Association of Municipalities, in turn, said Monday it will refuse to implement any new anti-crime measures until the national government provides adequate funding. La Florida mayor Pablo Zalaquett, vice-president of the Association, said most mayors agree in the demand for greater resources.

"We are going to have a strike" if we don't receive more resources, Zalaquett said. The conservative UDI mayor insisted that legislators must consult more with cities before passing legislation.

The poll also found that police do not hear about most criminal cases. Despite the elevated fear of crime, six out of ten respondents said they have failed to report a criminal incident. These respondents were primarily from lower socioeconomic classes.

Residents falling between middle-high to high income brackets (known as ABC1) were more likely to report a crime (50%) and also more likely to be the victim of a crime. In the Metropolitan region close to half of the ABC1 bracket reported being a victim of crime, compared to 39% of all surveyed.

By Renata Stepanov (editor@santiagotimes.cl)