The whole compound was on the city's edge. There were two ways to get in there: a pawed road with two lanes and a sidewalk and a trail through a bunch of private houses. The later was not popular because it was longer and muddy during bad weather. I took the second route because the first one was used, beside others, by the sports students. When not in class, these guys looked for an opportunity to punch someone.
Unfortunately for me, I did take the shorter route twice, and both times ended up with major injuries. First time I ended up with the broken nose, second time with a concussion.
It was so bad, in fact, that eventually the city police organized a patrol that walked that road. There were police raids in the dorms as well. I knew two girls who got raped and virtually every student who lived in the same dorms had been beaten multiple times, they belongings taken etc. Same sort of people broke into my neighbor's room, beat him up and took his electric stove (virtually the only thing of value he had).
Very little if any of this was ever investigated let alone punished. The police was poor and understaffed and had a lot of their own problems to deal with. They wouldn't bother to even write down your complaint if you were so naive as to try to file one.
* * *
If anything, my conclusion from my experience is that people are garbage. People don't overtly abuse each other in rich countries because they are afraid of the discomfort that might cause them, the police is well-funded and will, especially, come after the law-abiding citizens first. In a rich country, people want to live by the law because it's gainful and opens a lot of opportunities. This also creates more trust and good will.
In poor countries, the difference between inside and outside of jail is smaller, crime is more attractive because there are fewer legal ways to get rich, violence is punished less and is more attractive as a way to resolve individual conflicts as the official way is dysfunctional. Also, there's not a lot of "fun" otherwise. Also, being "tough" is more important.
If the rich countries were to become suddenly poor, the crime and violence situation would also get worse.
I don't think it's that clearcut. There's a cultural DNA. Folks behave a certain way then when they grow up their children behave the same because that's how they saw at home. Principles and basic morals are not enforced at home etc.
I'm basically arguing that nature is less important than nurture, even if nature might indeed be worse than we think.
It is worth to be on the lookout for the 1% that ate not like that, but be aware all those "nice people" in wealthy countries would most likely turn on you very quickly if they were in any kind of hardship for an extended amount of time.
The best example of this? German bloody pensioners and Americans that want Ukraine to surrender with millions to basically become slaves of a mafia run state for their own economic reality to get slightly better.
Various people that are perfectly fine with human rights of others to be trampled over just so they can be 1% better off financially.