I know this is a general question, so I guess I'm looking for more of a general answer.
When I hear that the population inside the City exceeded 1 million people I have to wonder if it was really a safe place to be. Was it common to be robbed, raped, kidnapped? Did citizens have to take special measures to protect their homes? Did people carry weapons for self defense? Was there a police force that people reported crimes to? How effective was this 'police' at catching criminals?
I guess I'm just having a hard time imagining such a massive ancient city that was not wrought full of crime and misery.
Thanks for any insight.
I wrote a post on this a while ago, the basic answer is we don't know.
This doesn't have anything to do with crime per se, but night in Rome was more dangerous in some respects. Rome was dark at night...like, really dark. No street lamps existed so you'd have to carry your own illumination. Now Rome, unlike most of the later Roman cities, was NOT built on a grid system. If you have ever been to Rome, it still reflects the crazy winding, narrow roads that are easy to get lost in during the day, much more so at night with only a personal torch to guide you.
On top of all this obvious danger, you are more likely to be run over during the night. Nighttime delivery of goods was the norm for Rome because otherwise the roads and markets of Rome would be too crowded during the day. From what I've read, these deliverymen could be reckless, and when it's pitch black, it's easy to accidentally run over a person.
Also, without saying, it's easier to rob and kill people in the pitch black and get away unnoticed. So while I can't say for sure that crime was worse at night, I think it's a fair guess to say the night could be potentially more dangerous.