You get one experience getting something expensive/cared about stolen and it sticks with you. It's part of how our brains are wired.

Just a few thieves in one area can quickly change a culture.

When i was a kid no one in the neighborhood locked their house, garages would be left open. Then thefts started happening. Garages were closed, doors started being locked. The thieves were eventually caught (teenagers turned in by their parents) but the garages have stayed shut and houses locked and it's been a couple decades.

Kind of depends on where you are in other countries. If you’re in a crowded major metro area, stuff gets stolen. My office has three badged doors, and once a year someone ghosts in behind an employee and jacks a bunch of laptops.

The social safety net in many countries is shit, so people get desperate and try to make ends meet by selling your shit.