Rosende: Linking unemployment to crime is "very unjust"

SANTIAGO.- Minister of Interior Patricio Rosende was firm in denying that there is a relationship between violent crimes committed in the past few weeks and the growth of unemployment provoked by the economic crisis.

As was reported by Radio ADN, Rosende stated that "associating unemployment and poverty with criminal activity is a very unfair judgment, because not all poor and unemployed people go out and commit crimes".

Speaking from Punta Arenas, where, coincidentally, he is currently evaluating a citizen safety initiative being carried out in this city, Rosende emphasized that "we have no indicator or report establishing that people who are unemployed start to commit crimes, this conjecture is absurd any way you look at it".

The Minister was emphatic in specifying that the crime rate has not actually gone up in the past few weeks, clarifying that this perception is a result of the increased sensationalism of the crimes.