What has been informally described as a 'state of security emergency' has been declared in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina's largest, after crime spiralled to the point that each day, on average, just under 370 robberies were taking place and four people were meeting violent deaths (and that is just what is reported to the police).
The security secretary of the province, Juan Pablo Cafiero, took over command of the provincial police force, dismissing the chief, Jorge Sobrado, after he was found salting away money in an offshore account. Since the crackdown began, another senior officer has been suspended from duty and about fifty have been placed under investigation (some of them for alleged involvement in a kidnap ring). All commissioned police officers have been ordered to submit a sworn statement of assets for scrutiny by auditors.
The federal government has reinforced the 41,000-strong provincial police by deploying in the district larger numbers of two federal forces, the paramilitary Gendarmería (border and anti-riot police) and the Prefectura Naval (coastguard and river police).
The first target of the crackdown on crime was auto theft, a booming 'industry' estimated to move about US$100m a year, the fruit of an average 11,000 auto thefts a month. This target was chosen not only because its victims are the relatively more affluent classes who have been most vocal in their complaints about the breakdown in public security, but also because it is a 'core' crime, connected with many other manifestations.
Most notably, 40% of all murders are related with car theft - and of the 30-or-so policemen killed since the beginning of this year, 80% were killed while trying to resist the theft of their own cars. Since the provincial offensive began on 12 July, the authorities report that car theft in the area has declined by 55%.
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