Only one in ten residents believes HCM City is safe: survey

A Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper contributor conducted a survey of 120 Ho Chi Minh City residents in order to evaluate the city’s security situation, with only 10.8% responding with the "safe" remark compared with 45.8% of respondents who said they believe the southern metropolis is unsafe.

The surveyed city dwellers were adults residing in District 1, District 2, District 3, District 7, Binh Thanh District, Tan Binh District, and Go Vap District.

A robber (in orange) is pictured after being caught by members of a self-organized crime fighting team in Ho Chi Minh City.

Women were more pessimistic about the city’s security than men, accounting for 49.2% of the "unsafe" responses, most likely because most crime victims are female.

There were also enormous variations in security optimism by age and residence. The older the respondents were, the more likely they were to give negative feedback with regard to the city’s safety.

Similarly, those living in more central districts, such as District 1 and District 3, feel worse about their safety than those in more distant neighborhoods, such as Go Vap District or Binh Thanh District.

More than a third of respondents said they witnessed at least one street robbery or bag snatching case in the city, with 37.5% of those living in central districts, compared to 26.8% in remote locations.

CCTV photos of a blatant bag snatching case in Ho Chi Minh City

Moreover, 17.5% of respondents said they were not just eyewitnesses but victims of street crime. More than half of this group of respondents said they felt panic and nervousness after the incident.

“Falling victim to a robber was a frightening feeling,” one of the respondents said. “I felt psychologically hurt to see such brazen robbers in a modern city like Ho Chi Minh City and I am terrified whenever I have to go out in the street.”

In tracking the root of robbery, 57.5% of the surveyed residents pointed to other social ills, such as drugs, illegal gambling, and online gaming. Another 52.5% of respondents blamed unemployment, and 15% believe the lack of surveillance cameras is a contributing factor.

The respondents suggested solutions to curb street crimes, with 55.8% recommending imposing tougher penalties on robbers or bag snatchers and 47.5% calling for more police crackdowns.

45% of the surveyed city dwellers also advised people not to “show off their valuable assets” in public and 43.3% recommended people leave their home with “tools to protect themselves." Finally, 41.7% proposed “learning some basic self-defense techniques” to stay safe on Ho Chi Minh City streets.

Crime rates modestly shrinking

Curbing crimes is one of the top priorities of Dinh La Thang, secretary of the city’s Party Committee.

On February 18, only a fortnight after the former minister of transport took the new position, Thang requested that Ho Chi Minh City police take steps to reduce crime rates over the next three months.

The city’s police presented the results of the three-month campaign during a meeting with the Standing Committee of the Party Committee on Tuesday.

Le Dong Phong, director of the municipal police department, highlighted at the meeting that criminal offences in March-May dropped 6.83% from the same period last year and 5.40% from the previous three-month period.

There were fewer cases of robberies, asset snatching and burglaries.  Murder cases were also resolved more quickly, contributing safety and security for the city, Phong said.

However, the police chief admitted that these improvements still fail to satisfy both local residents and the police department.

“Despite combating efforts, robberies and thefts are still predominant crimes, frequently occurring in many localities across the city,” Phong said.

Local residents and tourists are still frightened by brazen robberies and sophisticated break-ins, he added.

Phong said the police force will continue their efforts to reduce crimes.

Commenting on the anti-crime campaign, Thang spoke highly of the efforts made by the city’s police, even though the crime rates were only modestly reduced.

“What matters is identifying the reasons why criminals are unfazed by the added police effort,” Thang said.

The party chief then pressed that the fight against criminals should also be viewed under other perspectives, such as economics, society, and education so that the “problems can be solved at their roots.”