Mexico’s war on organized crime has done little to reduce people’s fear of crime and victimization

For nearly a decade, Mexico has been embroiled in a war against organized crime, with little success. But how has this often violent campaign affected people’s fears of crime and victimization? In new research, Carlos J. Vilalta uses data from Mexico’s national victimization survey, and finds that people’s daily routines have been affected by their fears about crime, with many now no longer going out at night as a result, and that this is trend that can be made worse by people’s lack of trust in the police. He writes that policy makers need to distinguish between policies to get crime under control and policies to reduce people’s fear of crime.