A comparison of robbery statistics from the first six months of 2016 and 2017 indicate that there has been a significant increase in larceny this year in Jalisco, in some categories more than doubling, according to the federal government’s National Public Security System (SNSP)
Taking all types of theft together, there has been a 9.4-percent increase from 2016 to 2017. Leading the pack are muggings, with a massive 116-percent uptick, a 93-percent increase in business robberies, and a 25-percent increase in auto theft. Trailing in fourth and fifth place are home robberies with an 18-percent spike and robberies of commercial vehicles up 10 percent. Thefts which have resulted in homicides are up by 12 percent.
One possible explanation for the increase in crime is that more crimes are being reported. Such is the bureaucratic hassle associated with reporting crimes, especially in Mexico, that many people simply choose not to.
David Coronado, professor in the department of sociology at the University of Guadalajara, pointed to several economic and sociological factors in explaining the dramatic swell in robberies in an interview with Guadalajara daily El Informador.
“It seems to me that this increase in crime is part and parcel of the informalization of the economy,” said Coronado, “a weak social safety net and violence as a fact of existence.”
Coronado also pointed out that, while plenty of jobs are available, many of them don’t pay a living wage. In addition, he blamed a political system which favors the wealthy and powerful while abusing the under-privileged.
Last Saturday, independent state congressman Pedro Kumamoto himself became a statistic (non-deadly) when he was relieved of his cellphone while walking with a friend in the Centro Historico at 11:50 p.m. The attackers, according to Kumamoto quite young, also demanded the duo’s wallets. However, since both he and his companion take the precaution of leaving their wallets at home while walking around at night, all he gave over was a 100-peso bill.
“If there are so many youths who don’t see any avenues open to them but crime, we need to rethink what we’re doing as a country,” said Kumamoto.