MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Cost of crimes against property and people in Uruguay estimated at 3.1% of GDP
The cost of crimes against property and people in Uruguay in 2010 totaled at least 1.2 billion dollars, which was equivalent to 3.1% of the country’s GDP. This was the conclusion of a new study carried out at the country’s Economic Research Center by researchers Aboal Diego, Jorge Campanella, and Bibiana Lanzilotta, with the collaboration of Magdalena Dominguez and Maren Vairo. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesWhat a pity the opportunity was lost to regionalise the data.
Feb 02nd, 2013 - 06:29 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I bet that Montevideo took the lions share and the real cause was a 'neighbours' to the south and their drug dealing gangsters pushing into the next biggest city in the area after BsAs.
The real problem of course is the usual one for SA: the Policia are ineffective and rely on the public to feed them information to close out the crimes. Detection seems to be an unknown police activity but the Policia Caminera (Highway Police) are always out to catch speeding motorists by the use of the old fashioned freehand radar guns. Am I being cynical that the fines are what attract the activity and not road safety?
If road safety were the object why do I see so many dangerous vehicles on the roads? You can always spot a moto (motorcycle) [110 ~ 125 cc] that has no brakes: the rider drives slowly and wears heavy shoes or even industrial boots instead of trainers, so that they can stop the things; and I kid you not.
I am waiting for the car to show up with boots sticking out through the floor, it will happen, I am sure of it.
ChrisR - I have a low enough opinion of the policía caminers, but I do believe they were worse a few years ago. I got a fine for a broken headlamp (on the Rambla Portuaria of all places), and the policeman involved wrote the ticket with no prevaricating for me to offer a bribe. Pity his mates on the Interbalnearia couldn't care less about vehicles with no lights at all.
Feb 02nd, 2013 - 07:28 pm - Link - Report abuse 02 ynsere
Feb 03rd, 2013 - 05:32 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“Pity his mates on the Interbalnearia couldn't care less about vehicles with no lights at all.”
Absolutely.
A young (19 yo) well known in the area was killed pushing her bike across the IB (I am still amazed that this is allowed) and the local paper played blue murder.
Now we have the Pol-Cam in TWO vans, one each side of the IB with cones out to pull the traffic to one lane per side, right next to the death site.
I saw two rear end shunts in one trip caused by this action.
As my best friend, a Spaniard who has lived in Uruguay for over fifty years said to me: “you are correct Chris that the Uruguayos are a great people, it's just a pity they have no brains when it comes to serious matters”.
I could not argue with him about this shocking, unnecessary and preventable death.
ChrisR, dunno about (all) Uruguayans having no brains when it comes to serious matters. The results of the last two elections indicate that the figure stands at 51%.
Feb 03rd, 2013 - 07:54 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Pity about the girl killed while crossing the Interbalnearia by the pueblito of La Capuera. Apparently a lorry driver told her to wait for a gap in the stream of traffic.
Haven't seen any pile-ups due to the orange cones set out to slow down the traffic, but it was just a matter of time.
Caminera vehicles increasingly in twos. Gives them more to chat about, or perhaps make up a foursome to play truco.
@4 ynsere
Feb 03rd, 2013 - 10:34 pm - Link - Report abuse 0No, they were not pile ups just rear end jobs: boot lids and bonnets that's all.
Pissed off the Caminera though I bet.
Yes, you are correct about going round in two's.
What about this: I was going N. on Ruta 8 towards Rocha on my motorbike and you know how the road undulates, I saw a Caminera van running about 70kph on the shoulder, so I dropped my speed to pass it and then accelerated away. As I crested the next hill I saw something in the bushes on the RHS about a kilometer away, so I slowed. Sure enough a Caminera van with three cars pulled in and the guy was writing them up.
Talk about falling into the trap! Not seen that before.
That's a useful piece of information. Of course it is contrary to traffic regulations and the laws of common sense to drive on the shoulder, particularly at speed, but the Caminera do it all the time. It's amazing they haven't run over anyone yet.
Feb 04th, 2013 - 12:44 am - Link - Report abuse 0Commenting for this story is now closed.
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