This article analyses the causes of the absence of banditry in Arequipa towards the end of the Spanish presence in Peru, using the administrative and criminal sources available. Considering the changes in socioeconomic structure in the southern region of Peru due to the Bourbon Reforms, the causes that explain this phenomenon are interpreted by comparison with other areas of the viceroyalty. In addition, Peruvian historiographic perspectives on banditry are examined - many of which focus on economic considerations - with a view to reinterpreting these criminal acts from a more cultural standpoint.: