Crime rates have started to decrease

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Yesterday, the INEGI released information in regards to crime rates , which show a decrease in contrast with the last three years.

This positive result is not enough to claim that there is a definitive change in the country because there should be results like this for several years; nevertheless, these results are significant since they break with the increasing crime rates registered in 2015, 2016, and 2017 .

In 2018 , at lea st 33 million crimes were perpetrated in the country, affecting 24.7 million victims . The National Victimization and Perception of Public Security Survey measures the most common crimes . Last year, the most common crimes were: theft or robbery on a public road or on public transport , extortion , fraud , vehicle theft , and verbal threats .

In 2018 , the percentage of homes with at least one victim of a crime reached 33.9% , while in previous years it was between 34%, 34.2%, and 35.6%.

The survey also reports a decrease in crime incidence . In 2017 there were 39,369 crimes for every 100,000 inhabitants , and in 2018 , there were 37,807 crimes for every 100,000 inhabitants .

Nevertheless, what hasn't decreased is the percentage of reported crimes . In 2018 , only 10.6% of the crimes were reported to the authorities , almost the same number as in 2017 .

Accelerating the reporting process

is one of the biggest obstacles for the administration of justice . In reality, at least in large cities, reporting a crime implies spending at least three hours in an office, where victims are mistreated and they end up feeling like they wasted their time. The National Code of Criminal Procedures establishes that flexible reporting methods should be implemented but the fulfillment of this measure is far from becoming a reality.

Besides gathering information, authorities should commit to further decreasing crime rates . The INEGI fulfilled its task, now authorities have to implement actions in order to improve security because if the information is not used, what is the purpose of surveys?