Bulk of Mexican crimes go unreported

 

90 per cent of Mexican victims of common crime last year never contacted police, citing bureaucratic delays and general mistrust of legal authorities who solve few cases, a study by Mexico's national statistics agency found. Victims who went to the trouble of reporting crimes like robbery, extortion, car theft and break-ins to prosecutors faced a 35 per cent chance there would be no investigation of their cases, the report stated. The independent statistics agency, known as Inegi, surveyed over 78,000 households across Mexico last year and found 15 per cent of victims of unreported crimes said they had no faith in the authorities. More than 33 per cent said filing a complaint was too time-consuming, while more than six per cent said they were discouraged by the hostile attitude of the police. The tally did not include crimes associated with Mexico's drug violence and left out figures about drug trafficking, weapons possession and money laundering. With more than 42,000 drugrelated murders since President Felipe Calderon launched a frontal attack on cartels at the beginning of his term in late 2006, Mexicans are increasingly worried about the security situation. Inegi regularly polls the public about perceptions of safety and during this year's March-April period, nearly 70 per cent of the population felt insecure. The overall cost of common crime in 2010 was $16.1 billion, or 1.5 per cent of the gross domestic product of Latin America's second-biggest economy. Added security costs to prevent crime - like putting bars on windows and doors, buying locks or guard dogs - was $3.7 billion, Inegi said. Among Mexican adults, 24 per cent were victims of common crime in 2010, which the statistics agency said was roughly in line with recent figures from England and Wales that pointed to a 21.5 per cent victim rate among those 16 and older and a 27 per cent rate among people 15 and older in Canada.