National poll: Victimization index falls 8 percentage points

SANTIAGO.- According to a poll taken by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the victimization index within Chilean homes has reported a drop of 8.2 percentage points between 2003 and 2007. 

In 2003, the poll indicated that 43% of homes had fallen victim to some type of crime.  In 2005, the figure fell to 38.3% and, in 2006, it remained at a similar level of 38.4% while for 2007, it has reported a significant drop to 34.8%.

In cities and towns outside of Santiago, the most significant decreases were registered in the regions of Maule and Coquimbo, which indicate a drop of more than 20 points.

Meanwhile, the re-victimization index, which refers to the number of homes that have fallen victim to a crime more than once, fell from 46.8% to 33.7% between 2006 and 2007.

Concerning the types of crime, a decline was seen among both surprise robberies (3.1%) and forced-entry home robberies (2.2%).

Despite the decrease in victimization figures however, the perception of crime among citizens has risen 8.2% compared to 2006, placing it at 86.6%.