Street muggings on the rise in Mexico City

Assaults on pedestrians in the past two years have risen 32.3 percent, says Attorney General's Office

By BRONSON PETTITT

Mexico Weekly / March 7, 2011

According to the Federal District's Attorney General's Office (PGJDF), assaults on pedestrians in the past two years have risen 32.3 percent, Reforma reported Monday.

In 2008, the PGJDF investigated 13,196 cases of muggings, or an average of 36 per day. In 2009, this number rose to 15,625, or 42 per day. Last year, there were 17,471 reports of muggings, or 48 per day.

The Cuauhtémoc, Gustavo A. Madero and Iztapalapa boroughs registered the most reports, PGJDF official Luis Genaro Vásquez told Reforma. The latter two boroughs are the capital's most populated.

“Most street muggings involve violence,” Vásquez said. While burglaries have a pattern – many occur during Holy Week and in December – muggings are unpredictable, he said.

While the number of street muggings has risen since 2008, many of them go unreported.

The Citizen's Institute for Crime Studies shows that 80 percent of street muggings are never reported. Using this figure, Reforma estimates that as many as 139,768 such crimes could have been committed last year, or 383 per day.

For its part, the PGJDF estimates that only one of three street muggings is reported.

“Of course [street muggings] are going to be the least reported crimes because people are walking and they get a watch or 20 pesos stolen and decide it's not even worth filing a police report,” Vásquez said.

PGJDF data show muggers make away with an average of 500 pesos ($42).

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