Delivery platforms play an important role, thanks to the possibility of generating income for those who work in the sector, in reducing crime in the largest cities in the state of São Paulo.
According to a study by economist Isadora Frankenthal of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), iFood’s expansion in the state reduced crime by 10.4% in areas where the service began operating.
The decline was greatest in low-income neighborhoods, indicating that the effect is linked to economic inclusion and job creation for low-skilled people, a group associated with “crimes of opportunity” — when it is easier to steal or steal impulsively, without much planning.
Although the overall effect on violent crime was a 4.5% reduction, this drop was almost entirely driven by poorer areas. These low-income neighborhoods experienced a 26.7% reduction in violent incidents.
In other words, young people from these regions have found work opportunities on job application platforms and have reduced their propensity to commit crimes both in the neighborhoods where they live and in other areas of the city.
“Normally, people don’t tend to travel great distances to commit this type of crime,” Frankenthal says.
Reductions in crime are greatest during times of day when the financial return on delivery work is highest, such as lunch and dinner windows. For more serious (violent) crimes, the offender will only refrain from committing the offense when the work of surrender is more rewarding.
For this work, the researcher analyzed data from 118 municipalities in São Paulo with more than 50,000 inhabitants between 2010 and 2019.
During the period that excludes the effects of the pandemic, iFood dominated the food delivery market and was present in these cities – which also analyzed crime data, based on statistics from the São Paulo Public Security Secretariat.
According to Frankenthal’s work, the impact is equivalent to 529 fewer crimes per municipality per year, on average. The effect extends to a reduction in property crimes, including violent property crimes (use of force or weapons). According to the study, the drop in crime persists for up to five years after the introduction of the platform.
Before the arrival of the service, the poorest quadrant of neighborhoods recorded approximately 50% more crimes per capita than the richest quadrant. The expansion of app-based work would also help reduce this geographic inequality in security.
The population making deliveries is primarily made up of young, low-skilled men, a demographic historically more likely to commit property crimes, such as theft and theft. Currently, the Chamber and City Hall of São Paulo are defining the rules for motorcycle taxi service in the capital, in the middle of a long legal battle. Mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB) reinforced the risk of an increase in road deaths if this type of transport is allowed.
The crime investigation is part of the academic’s doctoral thesis, which she hopes to publish in specialist journals in the coming months. At MIT, Frankenthal is dedicated to researching topics related to Brazil, particularly those related to the field of public security, using statistics and empirical data.
She says it is not possible, based on the figures from this research, to draw more detailed conclusions about how, on the other hand, criminals disguised as delivery men have contributed to increasing the frequency of crimes. Especially since the phenomenon is more widespread in large cities, such as the state capital.
For Luiz Guilherme Scorzafave, researcher at the Brazilian Public Security Forum and at Lepes (Laboratory for Studies and Research in Social Economy of the FEA-RP/USP), Frankenthal’s work is “of very high quality and very well done.”
“It is very interesting that the research was able, based on information from the platform and the occurrence of crimes, also to determine times and regions where crime decreased. This is ‘cutting edge’ research,” he says.
In general, app workers tend to be informal or MEI (Individual Microentrepreneur), falling into the category of self-employed with the CNPJ. Last year, according to a survey by economist Nelson Marconi, of the Eaesp-FGV, workers under this regime who worked in the transport sector, for example, received more than people with a formal contract.
The study considers the average income of the different professions and regimes analyzed equal to 1. Thus, it is possible to observe how much CLT employees and the self-employed at the CNPJ receive compared to the average 1 with IBGE data. Own accounts with the CNPJ in the field of transport received 1.22, compared to 0.88 for formal accounts in the sector.
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