How do Covid-19 stay-at-home restrictions affect crime? Evidence from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The impacts of COVID-19 lockdown and post-lockdown on homicide and rape in Bangladesh: A dynamic time series analysis

“…As a result, most of the time, people were at their respective homes, and opportunities for outdoor violent crimes, such as out-of-home stranger rape, were significantly reduced. This finding is consistent with the results in several global cities [ 3 , 19 , 27 , 28 ]. However, this causal finding during the lockdown at the national level is controversial compared to the findings of some descriptive studies on Bangladesh [ 8 , 31 , 38 , 70 ].…”

“…The causes of crime rate changes during lockdown were mentioned under different theoretical aspects in the existing literature, i.e., opportunities for crime [ 3 , 17 , 22 ], changes in victims’ mobilities [ 27 ], and shifts in routine activities [ 21 , 22 , 28 , 29 ]. The mobility of victims was reduced due to the lockdown; consequently, the opportunity for crimes also declined.…”

“…A handful of studies measured the global impact of lockdown during the pandemic on various crimes, including homicide and rape. For instance, researchers found decreased trends in overall crimes in several cities and countries around the globe [ 3 , 19 , 27 ], including rape and homicide in Bihar, India [ 30 ], overall property crimes in the capital city of Brazil [ 28 ], and deaths by road accident in Peru [ 34 ]. In disaggregated crime analysis, researchers found mixed trends in various crimes due to the lockdown, for example, assault, rape, and robbery [ 17 ]; residential burglary, drug-related crimes, and theft declined [ 29 ], but domestic violence [ 21 ], vehicle theft, and non-residential burglary increased in most cities of the USA [ 17 , 29 ].…”

“…In disaggregated crime analysis, researchers found mixed trends in various crimes due to the lockdown, for example, assault, rape, and robbery [ 17 ]; residential burglary, drug-related crimes, and theft declined [ 29 ], but domestic violence [ 21 ], vehicle theft, and non-residential burglary increased in most cities of the USA [ 17 , 29 ]. Some studies found no changes in overall violent crimes [ 3 , 28 ], homicide, shooting, and vehicle theft in several cities around the globe [ 17 ]. Moreover, a study found a considerable reduction in the rates of homicide, rape, and severe assault in South Africa during the first week of lockdown compared to the same week in the previous year [ 35 ].…”

Empirical evidence of the impact of mobility on property crimes during the first two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic

“…However, the authors noted that changes in the reporting behaviour of victims are often a determining factor in the decrease or increase in crime statistics, underscoring the need to study crime report trends (Estévez-Soto, 2021 ). In Rio De Janeiro, a study of COVID-19-induced SAH orders found that a decline in mobility strongly affected extortion and property offences but did not interfere with the dynamics of violent crime (Bullock et al, 2021 ). A similar study in Buenos Aires and Argentina found that an increased government presence in the form of health and social services caused a downward trend in acquisitive crimes (Perez‐Vincent et al, 2021 ).…”