Crime in biggest metropolis of Vietnam has grown steadily over the past years and continues to expand. Crimes such as theft and robbery as well others are not only more and more a problem for tourists and locals but also are new challenges for the state authorities.

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Ho Chi Minh City - crime rises steadily
Crime in biggest metropolis of Vietnam has grown steadily over the past years and continues to
expand. Crimes such as theft and robbery as well others are not only more and more a problem
for tourists and locals but also are new challenges for the state authorities.
Mr. and Ms. Doe (name changed by the editor) are
annoyed because they were victims of a robbery in the
morning near Ben Thanh Market in the city center of
Saigon. Muggers have stolen their handbags with cell
phone and camera, as well as 500 USD cash during a
robbery. Then Mr. and Mrs. Doe have been waiting for
an hour at a police station in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh
City to make a criminal complaint. Since Mr. and Mrs.
Doe were unable to name witnesses, the local police
did not accept their complaint.
But not only tourists and foreign visitors to the city are
frustrated about such states. Also the Saigonese have
increasingly afraid to leave their houses and feel
insecure in town. Looters who wreak havoc all over the city are becoming more daring and more dangerous as
well more professional. Most frequented areas for the increased number of criminals among others are the city
traffic at bustling streets and markets or near ATMs as well abandoned houses or apartments and hotel rooms.
Robbery usually occurs at dusk but more and more also at night and day times. Criminals act as couples or in
groups and in a few cases also as single individuals. Many of the robbers are on the way with motorcycles to
approach the victims quickly and unnoticed. From the surprised passers then are snatched handbags and
cameras as well mobile phones or even jewelry. Then the robbers disappear just as quickly as they have
appeared. According to statistics of the local police 7 to 8 of 10 detained offenders are drug consumers. Drug
addiction had become a further large problem in Ho Chi Minh City in recent years.
A resident of the city commented about the reality as follows: "Thieves and robbers in Ho Chi Minh City
disseminate alike fear among the locals and the foreign visitors. In the streets of Saigon it comes every day to
robberies as well thefts and the number of criminal offenses is constantly increasing. Crimes like that got too
often happen without radical prosecution by the governmental institutions. The situation becomes increasingly
unbearable. Saigon is an attractive destination for tourists but if we cannot solve this bad actuality, in the
future they will stay far away".
The warnings about robberies in Ho Chi Minh City are not new something. The foreign representatives from
Australia, Korea, Japan and as well other countries in Vietnam reflect constantly the status of their citizens
which lost passports and assets etc. in cases of robbery or theft. At their nonofficial statistics of 2015 are 83
cases happens to Japanese, 73 to Australians, 10 to Koreans and 80 to Taiwanese and Chinese. The victims of
the robberies got help from the Vietnamese state authorities such as police only in a very few cases. The real
number is many times higher because the victims only report the damage to their Diplomatic Missions in
Vietnam when passports were stolen. A significant statistics at the police of Saigon about the cases of robbery
Ho Chi Minh City at night – captured by Silvia

2. and theft is unavailable because in many cases criminal complaints either are not been made or are not been
accepted and registered at the responsible police departments.
The reports of Vietnamese Tourism Ministry said that the rate of to Vietnam returning tourists is recently very
low. Mr. and Ms. Doe will be also counted in this group because there wasn’t any Vietnamese Government
Authority who cares about their matter and not because they were robbed by Vietnamese criminals. It is
however not only an insecurity of foreign tourists but also the local people. This becomes right now the
identity as well the face of Ho Chi Minh City and the whole country. It does not matter how beautiful the
country is or how kind some people are if visitors feel unsafe and be bothered. These tourists will never come
back again and if they report stories same like those about Vietnam likewise their friends will never come here.
So this is really a great failure by the Ministry of Internal Affairs which effect does to the tourism industry and
the whole economic in Vietnam.
According to a report of the police in Ho Chi Minh City, there are monthly more than 1.000 robberies in the
province. The police had clarified allegedly more than 700 of these cases and arrested about 1,030 suspects.
Another report indicates that, in March 2016, the number of robberies in Ho Chi Minh City has increased by
15% to 20% over the previous month. Foreigners were the target of robberies in more than 100 cases. Nearly
60% of the cases occurred in the area of roads in District 2, which are heavily frequented by tourists. There
were 109 more robberies in District 1 according to this report and in 55 of these cases the victims were
tourists and expats.
The social networks are full of comments from visitors which said that Saigon is a city full of energy or very
interesting and worth to explore. But many of them also vowed that they never will be return to Ho Chi Minh
City or to Vietnam because the robberies. Other reasons for their decisions are theft of money, credit cards or
passports as well scam and cheatings. Those who have not come to Vietnam in the past are expressed
concern and said they would reconsider plans to explore Saigon. I think it is time that the Vietnamese
government and the state authorities to reconsider their attitude towards crime. The responsible in the
government departments should finally begin every kind of crime to take seriously and to punish all criminals
in Vietnam rigorously. Otherwise in the future it maybe will be too late.
28.03.2016
Silvia Huynh - ITI-HOLIDAY
http://www.vietnam-visa-for-vietnam.com/ho-chi-minh-city-crime-rises-steadily.html