Although there is no reliable statistical data that specifies how many families, entrepreneurs, businessmen – whether large, medium or small – are victims of crime, mainly of robbers and extortionists, in the La Libertad regionthe perception of insecurity has been measured. The indicator is so high that it has caused consumer and investor behavior to change, pushing them to make a poor allocation of their economic resources.
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Indeed, according to the Safety Barometer of the company Verisure, commissioned from Ipsos, 76%, that is, almost eight out of every ten people in Peru, feel unsafe when leaving their homes to go about their daily activities.
Lima has the highest perception of insecurity on the streets, with 81%; while in regions such as La Libertad, the indicator reaches 73%.
Changes for the worse
Faced with this reality, the dean of the College of Economists of La Libertad and president of the Institute of Economics (IEE), Francisco Huerta Benitesmaintains that citizens’ perception of insecurity is causing them to change their investment and consumption behavior.
“That does affect, because even the perception of insecurity is projected for the next 12 months, that is, many believe that the situation is not going to change. Now, in this context, companies, families and even the Government itself, instead of focusing on investing (the authorities) in roads or citizens in buying food, clothing, shoes, what they do is reallocate that money into security. , buying surveillance cameras and even other systems that allow them to feel protected. “Companies are doing the same thing,” he pointed out.
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The economy stagnates
Huerta Benites said that this situation is leading to a reduction in the economy and prevents the large social gaps that exist in the region from being closed.
“This situation of the perception of insecurity changes the behavior of the consumer and the investor, especially because this is going to continue. People do not go out to consume or reduce their outings, they withdraw; The same goes for investors. I know several who want to invest, but they are not going to do so as long as this situation of insecurity does not change. “They are waiting for another Government,” he emphasized.
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They only remain
The economist revealed that there are many companies that are only investing to maintain their operations, but not to expand it because they feel that they are becoming more visible and criminals notice and begin to ask for more spaces.
“When they see that there is an increase in sales volume, these bad characters (criminals) ask for more money,” the specialist emphasized.
