Determinants of the Fear of Crime in Argentina and Brazil: A Cross-Country Comparison of Non-Criminal and Environmental Factors Affecting Feelings of Insecurity

Abstract

Argentina and Brazil report the highest incidence of the fear of crime across Latin America. Although the spread of crime and victimization may explain these trends initially, the focus in this paper is on the significance of non-criminal factors in explaining the fear of crime, such as socio-economic vulnerability, educational level and trust in people and institutions, as well as exposure to violence at one’s place of residence. Using a subset of data from the 2017 edition of the Latinobarometro survey (n = 2400), a regression analysis was conducted showing that the fear of crime is radically different between the two countries. In Argentina, as in certain European countries, people’s fears of crime are positively associated with socio-economic vulnerability and in turn negatively associated with state-driven violence. The latter has a protective effect on Argentinians’ feelings of insecurity, while in Brazil the fear of crime is to a greater extent a consequence of previous victimization and a general distrust in other people. Despite this key difference, our results shed light on the problem of social cohesion in both countries, suggesting that the fear of crime is a social rather than criminal issue.