In the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires and its sprawling outskirts, a surge in muggings and property theft in recent years has resulted in an increased demand for private security officers and security systems.
Scenes caught on tape show people being robbed at gunpoint and robbers fleeing a police check stop on a motorcycle.
While some point to an increased level of poverty in the bustling South American capital as a possible explanation behind the crime wave, others think drug abuse, not poverty alone, is to blame.
(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) MIRIAM EDITH QUINTANA, SAYING:
"I don't know if it's related to poverty, I have also gone through tough times and I never thought about robbery. So I think it's not about poverty but more because of drugs. Drug use has increased a lot in the past 20 years and there are kids that with drugs and alcohol don't think and who are capable of doing anything because of the drugs."
But many believe the complexity of the problem s
