Steal or Starve: Does Investing in Food Security Reduce Crime? Evidence from São Paulo

About:

The Latin America Policy Process Research Initiative (LAPPRI) aims to advance established and emerging policy process theories in order to enhance scholarly understanding of policymaking in Latin America.

The LAPPRI Research Seminar Series features scholars from around the world dedicated to researching policy process dynamics across the region.

Presenter:

Fabiano Jorge Soares (Fundação Getulio Vargas)

Abstract:

This research examines the relationship between food and nutritional security policies that enhance food accessibility and the incidence of hunger-motivated criminal offenses, particularly minor crimes such as theft driven by starvation. Using a multi-method approach to produce a utilization-focused evaluation, this presentation will analyze whether increased food access correlates with reducing food-related criminal activity within São Paulo's food security network from 2000 to 2024. The research is grounded in theories linking crime patterns to social, economic, and environmental factors and understands crime as a behavior influenced by poverty and food insecurity rather than solely by individual criminal tendencies. In a context where food insecurity remains pervasive, particularly in vulnerable urban populations, this study highlights the role of hunger in shaping criminal behavior. Given the complex interplay of food security, social inequality, and structural violence, this study will contribute to understanding food-related crime by providing a literature review on crime motivation and developing a geospatial data platform to map food accessibility relative to incidents of food theft. The research employs a natural experiment to capture the experiences of individuals facing food insecurity and to examine their perceptions and behaviors around food access and theft. This approach aims to provide empirical insights into the impacts of food distribution policies on hunger-related crime, using São Paulo's food security network as a case study. Findings from this research are expected to inform evidence-based public policy adjustments to address the root causes of hunger-motivated criminal behavior, contributing to both food security and public safety agendas.