Survey: 7/10 Mexicans Feel Insecure In Their City

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Mexico City .- Although President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has insisted again and again that the crimes committed in the country are going down, Mexicans feel more insecure in the cities where they live, according to the National Survey of Urban Public Safety (ENSU) done by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography.

According to the survey done in March 2019, 74.6% of the population aged 18 and over, said that living in their city is unsafe. The figure is higher than that registered in December 2018, when it was placed at 73.7%.


In addition, 32.8% of the population consulted said that in the next 12 months the situation of crime will continue equally bad, and 22.2% said it will get worse.

The ENSU revealed that the most insecure cities, according to people aged 18 and over, are: Tapachula, Chiapas; Villahermosa tabasco; Cancun Quintana Roo; Reynosa Tamaulipas; Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, and Ecatepec, State of Mexico. 

Eight out of every 10 Mexicans said they felt more insecure at ATMs, and to a lesser extent in public transportation, banks, the streets, the market, roads, recreational parks, shopping centers, automobiles and work.

Fear of crime can change routines or habits, as well as the perception of the performance of the police. During the first quarter of 2019, criminal or antisocial behaviors had to do with robberies or assaults (64.2%), alcohol consumption in the streets (62.4%), vandalism in homes or businesses (50.1% ), sale or consumption of drugs (42.8%), frequent shooting with weapons (42.7%) and violent gangs or gangs (33.9%).

The Inegi reported that 66.4% of those consulted – residents in the cities under study – stated that during the first quarter of 2019 they modified their habits in terms of “carrying valuable things like jewelry, money or credit cards”, for fear of being a victim crime.

Meanwhile, 58.2% acknowledged having changed habits regarding “allowing their minor children to leave their home”; 55.5% changed routines in terms of “walking around their home, after eight o’clock at night,” and 38.3% changed routines related to “visiting relatives or friends”.

The population aged 18 and over identified the various police agencies and perceived their performance as “very or somewhat effective” in their work to prevent and combat crime. These are: Navy (86.6%), Army (84.3%), National Gendarmerie (70.2%), Federal Police (65%), State Police (49.5%) and Municipal Preventive Police (39.1%).

As for the way to find out about the news related to insecurity, 63.1% said they consult the “television newscasts” to learn about drug trafficking and violence; 57.5% maintain “personal communication in the environment of the home”, while 46.5% were informed through Facebook and 25.4% through “radio news”.

On the most important problems in their city, 78% of the population of 18 years highlighted the existence of “bumps in streets and avenues”; 67.9% “delinquency (robbery, extortion, kidnapping, fraud, etc.)” and 62.9% considered “insufficient” street lighting.