An estimate of the underreporting of violent crimes against property applying stochastic frontier analysis to the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the level of underreporting of violent crimes against property in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, using stochastic frontier analysis. Failure to report a crime to competent authorities has negative consequences for the effectiveness of public safety policies, because policy decisions regarding criminal matters are based on official crime statistics, which in turn are biased by underreporting. An awareness of the magnitude of underreporting should help policy makers to design more appropriate crime prevention strategies. The database used for the study defines armed robbery, robbery, and theft as violent crimes against property. The main results of the study show that, from 2004 to 2011, 32.7% of all violent crimes against property in the state were not reported. A robustness test was carried out on the estimates by employing the same technique to calculate the level of underreporting for the homicide rate, which is the least unreported crime.

Gendered mobility and violence in the São Paulo metro, Brazil

“…Solymosi et al, 2018). Although Sa˜o Paulo's metro authorities began a campaign to encourage users to report violence in 2015, and the number of reports has increased (see Ceccato and Paz, 2017), statistics are certainly still affected by underreporting (see Moreira et al, 2018). Moreover, as mentioned, the times that employees change shifts and move between stations are not included in our data.…”