The study of firearm violence in Mexico has primarily focused on homicides and trafficking. Less attention has been given to understanding how firearms affect other crimes and facilitate criminal activity beyond drug markets. By analyzing two questions, this study explores the role of firearms in extortions perpetrated in Mexico from 2012 to 2021. Questions are: What is the likelihood of reporting extortions to the police if offenders exhibited firearms? What is the likelihood of compliance with demands when offenders are armed with firearms? We obtained data from Mexico’s National Crime Victimization Surveys and analyzed 2,619 extortions reported from 2012 to 2021. To explore our research questions, we ran two binary logistic regressions. Our dependent variables were dichotomous (reported to police = 1, complied with demands = 1). The independent variables were weapon types (extortions involving firearms as the reference group). We controlled for victim demographics as well as crime characteristics. Our results indicate that 40% of these extortions ( n = 1,058) were perpetrated with a firearm. Fifty-two percent of extortions were perpetrated by unarmed offenders ( n = 1,348) and 8% ( n = 213) were perpetrated with other weapons (no firearms). Models suggest that, when compared to extortions perpetrated by unarmed offenders or those exhibiting other weapons (no firearms), victims of extortions involving firearms are less likely to report these crimes to police, mainly because of fear of reprisal. Similarly, victims are more likely to comply with demands if offenders exhibit firearms. Findings highlight the role of firearms in criminal enterprises and support the need for a comprehensive policy agenda to address firearm violence in Mexico.

中文翻译：

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2012 年至 2021 年墨西哥的枪支和勒索情况

对墨西哥枪支暴力的研究主要集中在凶杀和贩运方面。人们很少关注了解枪支如何影响其他犯罪以及如何促进毒品市场以外的犯罪活动。通过分析两个问题，本研究探讨了枪支在 2012 年至 2021 年墨西哥发生的勒索事件中的作用。问题是：如果犯罪者展示枪支，向警方报告勒索行为的可能性有多大？当罪犯携带枪支时，遵守要求的可能性有多大？我们从墨西哥国家犯罪受害调查中获取了数据，并分析了 2012 年至 2021 年报告的 2,619 起勒索事件。为了探索我们的研究问题，我们运行了两个二元逻辑回归。我们的因变量是二分的（向警方报告 = 1，遵守要求 = 1）。自变量是武器类型（涉及枪支的勒索作为参考组）。我们控制了受害者人口统计数据以及犯罪特征。我们的结果表明，40% 的勒索 ( n = 1,058) 是使用枪支实施的。 52% 的勒索行为是由手无寸铁的罪犯实施的（n = 1,348），8%（n = 213）是使用其他武器（无枪支）实施的。模型表明，与手无寸铁的犯罪者或展示其他武器（无枪支）的勒索行为相比，涉及枪支的勒索行为的受害者不太可能向警方举报这些犯罪行为，主要是因为担心遭到报复。同样，如果犯罪者展示枪支，受害者更有可能遵守要求。调查结果强调了枪支在犯罪企业中的作用，并支持需要制定全面的政策议程来解决墨西哥的枪支暴力问题。