Evidence of the effect of wealth observed by criminals on the risk of becoming a victim of property crimes

The objective of this paper is to measure the effect of wealth on property victimization risk. Using data from two household victimization surveys conducted in São Paulo city and a measure of spending as a proxy for wealth observed by criminals, the conclusion was reached that wealth level is one of the determinants of victimization risk. This risk increases with this variable, but it reaches a maximum level from which it declines as wealth levels increase.