Calling BA 'one of safest cities in South America' is 'disrespectful' to citizens,' City Gov't

City Cabinet Chief Horacio Rodríguez Larreta referred to the recent statements made by the National Secretary of Security, in which he assured that Buenos Aires is “one of the safest cities in South America,” and said they were “disrespectful” to the population.

In a press statement released by the City Government, Rodríguez Larreta said that Secretary Sergio Berni “is not telling the truth.” 

“The population lives in fear. This week I met with some residents from the Villa Santa Rita and Liniers areas and the first thing they told me was that they are very concerned because the presence of Federal Police members there continues to decrease while crime is on the rise,” he said.

“It is a good starting point to have Berni admit that the Federal Police is responsible for the City’s safety. However, it is contradictory to see them remove the police presence from hospitals, subway stations, public buildings and highways. You fight crime by deploying more police officers on the streets, not less,” he added. 

In the same statement, the PRO party official once again demanded for the Federal Police to be transferred from the National to the City Government.

“Just like (Mayor) Mauricio Macri says, we want to have an autonomous city and we want to be responsible for every aspect of it: the port, the subway, justice and street safety. This is why we will continue to ask for the Federal Police to be transferred from the National Government to the City,” he stated.