Security dominates 21st-century politics, permeating all aspects of governance. However, criminology has underexplored this concept and its impacts on people's daily lives. This study addresses this gap by examining how residents of two marginalised Chilean neighbourhoods, facing acute safety threats, navigate their environments, enacting practices of care and solidarity while excluding those perceived as threatening. Chile provides a compelling case study, where deep-seated neoliberalism and resultant individualism intersect with rising crime rates and institutional detachment, creating a complex landscape for security governance. Through an integrated approach combining immersive fieldwork, interviews, focus groups, and participatory methods, I explore how people conceptualise security, identify allies and threats, and interact with state security programmes. The project promises significant theoretical contributions by uncovering novel practices of care and solidarity mobilised around security, potentially informing more democratic crime control politics. It brings vital perspectives from the Global South to emerging everyday security studies.