Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Overview

According to the 2016 Crime and Safety Report by the Overseas Security Advisory Council of the US Department of State, crime in Argentina is "a serious problem …[and] [s]treet crime in the larger cities (greater Buenos Aires, Rosario and Mendoza) is a constant problem for residents and visitors alike. Criminals are often well-dressed, and crime can occur anytime during the day at any location" (US 7 Mar. 2016). The report also indicates that crimes are regularly committed by "'motochorros'" (thieves on motorcycles) and that "'express kidnappings' have been increasingly reported" (ibid.). Córdoba-based news channel cba24n quotes the former Minister of Security of the province of Córdoba in April 2014 as saying that the type of crime most frequent in the city of Córdoba is street crime, with 48 percent of the total number of crimes (cba24n 27 Apr. 2014). The former Minister also indicated that motochorros are responsible for 37.4 percent of the street crime which, according to her calculations, represent 55,000 crimes committed by motochorros per year, or 125 per day (ibid.). She further indicated that women between 18 and 30 years old are the most common victims of motochorros (ibid.). Sources report that, according to Argentina's Ministry of Communications, around 5,000 cellphones are stolen in Argentina per day (Télam 26 July 2016; Clarín 26 July 2016), up 14 percent (ibid.) or 15 percent from 2014 (Télam 26 July 2016).

A 2016 report produced by the Argentinean Ministry of Security (Ministerio de Seguridad) provides the following statistics of crimes committed during 2015 and, in parenthesis, the rates per 100,000 inhabitants:

• First-degree murders: 2,837 victims nationwide (6.6), 136 of them in the province of Córdoba (3.8). The province with the highest rate was Santa Fe (12.2) with 413 victims, and the lowest was Catamarca (1.8) with 7.
• Personal injuries: 189,830 victims nationwide (440), 9,541 of them in the province of Córdoba (267). The province with the highest rate was Mendoza (1,240) with 23,383 victims, and the lowest was Misiones (134) with 1,595.
• Rape: 3,746 victims nationwide (8.7), 261 of them in the province of Córdoba (7.3). The province with the highest rate was Salta (27.5) with 367 victims, and the lowest was Entre Ríos (3.3) with 44.
• Threats: 193,944 cases nationwide (450), 13,656 of them in the province of Córdoba (383). The province with the highest rate was Catamarca (1,351) with 5,363 cases, and the lowest was La Rioja (84) with 310.
• Robberies: 443,033 cases nationwide (1,027), 63,906 of them in the province of Córdoba (1,791). The province with the highest rate was Neuquén (2,188) with 13,558 cases, and the lowest was La Rioja (417) with 1,533 (Argentina 25 Apr. 2016, 3-6).

The same report indicates that authorities registered 9,416 cases of aggravated robbery nationwide (21.8), 80 of them in the province of Córdoba; and 271,921 cases of theft (630.4), 24,762 of them in the province of Córdoba (ibid. 13-18).

2. State Protection and Effectiveness

The US Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2015 indicates that

[t]he federal police generally have jurisdiction for maintaining law and order in the federal capital and for federal crimes in the provinces. … All federal police forces fall under the authority of the Ministry of Security. Each province, including the city of Buenos Aires, also has its own police force that responds to a provincial (or municipal) security ministry or secretariat. Individual forces varied considerably in their effectiveness and respect for human rights. (US 13 Apr. 2016, 4)

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) dataset on police personal at the national level indicates that Argentina had 341,627 police officers in 2014, which represents a rate of 794.9 officers per 100,000 inhabitants (UN n.d.). The same source indicates that, for the same year, Uruguay had 24,241 police officers (708.9 per 100,000 inhabitants) and Canada had 68,896 (193.6 per 100,000 inhabitants) (ibid.). According to the Citizen's Security Observatory (Observatorio de Seguridad Ciudadana, OSC), an NGO that produces statistical information on crime in the province of Córdoba (OSC n.d.a), in 2013 the province of Córdoba had a rate of 579 police officers per 100,000 inhabitants (ibid. n.d.b).

A report produced by the High Court of Justice (Tribunal Superior de Justicia) of the province of Córdoba indicates that during 2015, 51,629 criminal cases [1] were lodged with the Investigating Prosecutor's Offices (Fiscalías de Instrucción) in the province of Córdoba (Córdoba [2015], 2), which represents a rate of 1,447 cases per 100,000 inhabitants for the province (ibid., 69). Out of the 51,629 cases, 6,580 went to trial, 6,029 were [translation] "archived," and 4,961 were dismissed (ibid., 27). Out of the 4,961 dismissed, 2,706 were due to the expiration of the time limit for prosecution, 257 that were non-imputable, and 1,998 [translation] "for other reasons" (ibid., 11). The report further indicates that out of the 6,580 cases that went to trial, the courts reached 3,001 decisions as follows:

• final conviction: 580 cases;
• judgement of acquittal: 63 cases;
• plea bargaining: 757;
• dismissal due to expiration of time limit by the prosecution: 734;
• dismissal due to non-imputable: 6;
• dismissal due to "other reasons": 415; and
• "non-specified" decisions: 446 (ibid., 56).

2.1 Protection Programs

The website of the High Court of Justice of the province of Córdoba indicates that the Office for Citizen's Assistance (Oficina de Atención Ciudadana) provides, since 2010, information on the judicial entity where a person needs to go and advises him or her of the requirements to proceed with any particular judicial case (Córdoba n.d.). The same source indicates that the Office for Citizen's Assistance is opened from Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. (ibid.). Additional information on the Office for Citizen's Assistance could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

On 16 November 2016, sources reported that the Chamber of Deputies of Argentina unanimously approved a law for the protection of victims of crimes (Infobae 16 Nov. 2016; Télam 16 Nov. 2016). The law establishes the creation of protection centres that would have physicians, social workers, psychologists and lawyers to provide assistance to victims of crime (ibid.; Infobae 16 Nov. 2016). Sources indicate that the law must be approved by the Senate in order to take effect (ibid.; Télam 16 Nov. 2016). Additional information on the law could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Additional information on protection programs could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Note

[1] The statistics provided in the report do not include offenses, youth criminal justice cases, writs of amparo, habeas corpus, or those carried out by judges responsible for procedural safeguards (Córdoba [2015], 2).

References

Argentina. 25 April 2016. Ministerio de Seguridad de la Nación. Informe del Sistema Nacional de Información Criminal (SNIC): Año 2015. [Accessed 6 Dec. 2016]

cba24n. 27 April 2014. "Proporcionalmente, Córdoba es la provincia con más policías." [Accessed 6 Dec. 2016]

Clarín. 26 July 2016. "Crece el robo de celulares: hay al menos 5.000 casos por día." [Accessed 12 Dec. 2016]

Córdoba. [2015]. Tribunal Superior de Justicia. Fuero penal: datos estadísticos de 2015. Relevamiento realizado en el período del 1º de enero de 2015 al 31 de diciembre de 2015. [Accessed 6 Dec. 2016]

Córdoba. N.d. Poder Judicial. "Atención ciudadana." [Accessed 29 Nov. 2016]

Infobae. 16 November 2016. "La Cámara de Diputados aprobó el Régiman de Protección a las Víctimas de Delitos." [Accessed 30 Nov. 2016]

Observatorio de Seguridad Ciudadana (OSC). N.d.a. "Qué es el observatorio de seguridad ciudadana?" [Accessed 8 Dec. 2016]

Observatorio de Seguridad Ciudadana (OSC). N.d.b. "Efectivos policiales. Argentina." [Accessed 8 Dec. 2016]

Télam, Agencia de Noticias Oficial de la República Argentina.16 November 2016. "Media sanción al proyecto para el Régimen de Protección a las Víctimas de Delitos." [Accessed 12 Dec. 2016]

Télam, Agencia de Noticias Oficial de la República Argentina. 26 July 2016. "En Argentina se roban 5.000 celulares por día y esto genera un mercado ilegal millonario." [Accessed 6 Dec. 2016]

United Nations (UN). N.d. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Data Portal. "Total Police Personnel at the National Level." [Accessed 8 Dec. 2016]

United States (US). 13 April 2016. Department of State. "Argentina." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2015. [Accessed 12 Dec. 2016]

United States (US). 7 March 2016. Department of State, Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC). Argentina 2016 Crime and Safety Report. [Accessed 6 Dec. 2016]

Additional Sources Consulted

Internet sites, including: Amnesty International; Argentina – Ministerio de Justicia y Derechos Humanos, Ministerio Público Fiscal, Policía Federal; British Broadcasting Corporation; Cadena 3; Cable News Network; Córdoba – Fiscalía de Estado, Ministerio Público Fiscal, Policía, Portal Oficial; Crónica; El Show de la Mañana; Factiva; Freedom House; Human Rights Watch; Insight Crime; IRIN; Jane's Intelligence Review; La Casa del Encuentro; La Nación; La Prensa; La Voz del Interior; Observatorio Provincial de Violencia contra las Mujeres; UN – Refworld, ReliefWeb; US – Central Intelligence Agency, Embassy in Buenos Aires.