Why is the crime rate so high in Venezuela? - 2023 [24] InSight Crime says the crisis has "all too often been obscured by the government's reluctance to release damning crime statistics". Venezuela has 1.5 police officers per 1,000 residents, while U.S. cities average 3.8 per 1,000. Crime in Venezuela is widespread, with violent crimes such as murder and kidnapping increasing annually. The age of criminal responsibility is 18 years. [7][8][9][10] By 2015, crime, which was often the topic Venezuelans worried about the most according to polls, was the second largest concern compared to shortages in Venezuela. The country has one of the top five highest per capita murder rates in the world. Most kidnappings occur around "peace zones" where official police withdrew and gangs took over;[51] according to NBC News, "experts say the government has armed these groups [who] control large territories, financed through extortion and the drug trade". A non-government organisation says Venezuela has the world's highest murder rate - many of them extrajudicial killings by police.And an elite special forces . Venezuela's violent crime fuels the death business | Reuters [18] Sanjuan data from 2000 shows that in the capital city of Caracas, 92% of homicides are due to firearms and that 83% of homicide victims died near their homes, 55% in public altercations and 55% of the homicides occurred on the weekend. Prison population total. [19] The Chvez government banned private gun ownership in 2012[20][21] but overall crime rate has kept increasing since. Caracas, Venezuela reputedly has a murder rate over 100 per 100,000. Home invasions involve large groups of heavily armed criminals who take over houses or apartment complexes, and rob the owners or all the occupants. Venezuela's unending tale of murder and sorrow | The Star What's behind Venezuela's violent crime problem? - Al Jazeera [58][59] According to Greg Palast, the claim about Chavez's $300 million is based on the following (translated) sentence: "With relation to the 300, which from now on we will call 'dossier', efforts are now going forward at the instructions of the cojo [slang term for 'cripple'], which I will explain in a separate note." Dec. 28, 2015. Lots of frustration, little hope. [54] According to experts, kidnappings and torture by the Directorate of Military Counterintelligence increased during the 8-year tenure of Hugo Carvajal. [5] Following the "institutional crisis" surrounding the Venezuelan government and the socioeconomic issues shown during the Caracazo riots in 1989 and Hugo Chvez's 1992 coup attempts, homicides increased in Venezuela. Police authorities cite a lack of resources, under-staffing, payroll issues and lack of response by the judicial and corrections systems, as the key reasons why response times are delayed and a significant amount of criminals go unpunished. According to the VVO, a rate of 122 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in . In 2015, 17,778 people were murdered in Venezuela; however, the VOV revealed that those numbers were as high as 27,875. Palast suggests that the "300" is supposedly a reference to "300 prisoners" (the number involved in a FARC prisoner exchange) and not "300 million", as Raul Reyes was one of the Farc's main negotiators for prisoner exchanges. Backlinks from other websites and blogs are the lifeblood of our site and are our primary source of new traffic. . . The penalty for illegally selling or carrying a firearm is a prison sentence of up to 20 years. Venezuela's president blames telenovelas for crime - USA TODAY Venezuela - Crime - GlobalSecurity.org [5] In 1994, when Rafael Caldera became president, he attempted to strengthen Venezuela's "institution", staying in the center of political issues, performing both conservative and reformative actions that resulted in the increase of the murder rate stopping; though his popularity and the public's trust in the political system decreased.[5]. Is Venezuela poor? [46] Wealthy Venezuelans invest in armored vehicles and bodyguards, while middle class Venezuelans change routes to work frequently, refrain from wearing jewelry in public, and never travel on foot alone. United States vs Venezuela Crime Stats Compared - NationMaster Qatar has the lowest crime rate in the world, followed by the UAE, according to Numbeo statistics. [45][46] He further explained that criminals felt that the Venezuelan government did not care for the problems of the higher classes, which in turn gave them a sense of impunity that created a large business of kidnapping. According to the BBC article, 4 of 5 kidnappings are express kidnappings which are not included in government statistics. Jumping to the year 2014, the rate was 166, and as of 2016 the rate was at 173 [135], In 2018, Minister of Prison Service Iris Varela stated that when "[c]omparing the Venezuelan prison system with other penitentiary systems in the world, I can guarantee that this is the best in the world, because there have been no incidents", ignoring at least the April 2018 fire that occurred in the police station jails in Valencia, Carabobo where 68 people died per official figures. Venezuela ranks fourth in the world for cocaine seizures, behind Colombia, the United States, and Panama. According to the World Atlas, Venezuela has the highest crime rate globally. [57], Independent analyses of the documents by a number of U.S. academics and journalists have challenged the Colombian interpretation of the documents, accusing the Colombian government of exaggerating their contents. Venezuela crisis in brief. [1][2][3][4] [15] The murder rate declined even further to 60.3 in 2019. With a murder rate of 130 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, Caracas is generally considered the most dangerous city in Latin America, if not the world. The short answer is yes, Venezuela is safe to visit. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Ministra asegura que el sistema penitenciario venezolano es el mejor del mundo", "23 Inmates Killed in Venezuelan Prison Uprising, Says Rights Group", "Venezuela prison riot leaves more than 40 dead", "In Venezuela's prisons, inmates are the wardens", "The Modern History of Venezuela, Why Still So Much Crime? [142], In Venezuelan prisons, inmates partake in gladiatorial matches to settle disputes. Originally, looters would wait for trucks to crash and loot the scene, though recently trucks have been attacked instead. [1], Crime has also continued to increase under Chvez's successor, President Nicols Maduro, who continued Chvez's policies that disrupted Venezuela's socioeconomic status. [39], In 2009, it was reported that Venezuelan authorities would assign judicial police to Caracas area morgues to speak with families. Many unaffiliated criminals are also increasingly involved in kidnappings, either dealing with victim's families directly or selling the victim to terrorist groups. Venezuela's crisis is so bad, even criminals are - The Washington Post Venezuelan authorities claimed the incident was an escape attempt by inmates, while the Venezuelan Prison Observatory noted the inmates were angry over insufficient food and water and called for an investigation. A decades-old problem in Venezuela, armed robberies, kidnappings and murders climbed during the 1999-2013 rule of . Crime in Venezuela can be attributed to several factors; poverty, retribution, drugs, gangs, and politics. Venezuelan law enforcement entities continue to look for creative policing strategies to overcome these obstacles, such as community policing base stations, motorcycle and bicycle patrols, augmenting traditional foot and vehicle policing. [52], El Pas reported in 2014 that Chvez had years earlier assigned colectivos to be "the armed wing of the Bolivarian Revolution" for the Venezuelan government, giving them weapons, communication systems, motorcycles and surveillance equipment to exercise control in the hills of Caracas where police are forbidden entry. Most violent crimes in Caracas, especially murder, involve firearms. [29] In 2015, the OVV's murder rate data showed an increase of the rate to 90 per 100,000 with an estimated 27,878 Venezuelans murdered adding up to nearly 20% of murders in the Latin American region. Kidnappings in Venezuela - Foreign Policy Research Institute [120], Venezuela's judicial system has been ranked the third most corrupt in the world by Transparency International[129] and according to the World Justice Project's Rule of Law Index 2021, Venezuela had the worst rule of law in the world; having the second worst civil justice system in the world and the worst criminal justice system in the world. Statisticians and police have openly stated that only 30-40% of all kidnappings get reported to the police. Nigeria - 34.52. Brazil (67.49) Jamaica (67.42) 1. Why Is Caracas Venezuela So Dangerous - BikeHike Crime in Venezuela | Visual.ly [102][103] A 2013 Gallup study showed that only 26% of Venezuelans have faith in their local police. [63], In September 2013, an incident involving men from the Venezuelan National Guard placing 31 suitcases containing 1.3 tons of cocaine on a Paris flight astonished French authorities. According to a victimization survey conducted by Venezuela's National Institute of Statistics, in the year leading up to July 2009, 46 kidnappings took place every day in Venezuela, a much . Venezuela Crime Stats: NationMaster.com Gunson reported that colectivos combat criminal gangs in neighborhoods and take over the previous gang's business in crime and also take over buildings already owned by individuals and collect rent from the owners. [45], In leaked government INE data for kidnappings in the year 2009, the number of kidnappings were at an estimated 16,917, contrasting the CICPCs number of only 673,[43] before the Venezuelan government blocked the data. Published by Teresa Romero , Apr 21, 2022. [111] In 2017, it was revealed that even military personnel became targets, with criminals instead beginning to just kill all of their victims before stealing their belongings, introducing a more violent face to theft in the country. Venezuela is a source for flora and fauna crimes, including illegally extracted timber and Cucurito palm, facilitated by the lack of investigations, inventories, or government presence in national parks. Venezuela: All you need to know about the crisis in nine charts Crime and Scams in Venezuela: What You Need To Know - World Nomads 4 January. In 1990, 31,861 violent crimes, 184,126 property crimes, and 6,405 drug crimes were reported. . Economic Indicators for Venezuela including actual values, historical data, and latest data updates for the Venezuela economy. By comparison, the murder rate for New York City is 6.4, 3.8 for Los Angeles and 18.2 for Chicago. [140][141], Edgardo Lander, a sociologist and professor at the Central University of Venezuela with a PhD in sociology from Harvard University explained that Venezuelan prisons are "practically a school for criminals" since young inmates come out "more sort of trained and hardened than when they went in". (year, prison population total, prison population rate) Year . Phil Gunson, a freelance reporter for foreign media, states that, "It's no secret that many colectivos engage in criminal activities." Three in every four Venezuelans live in extreme poverty , a study has said, as a years-long severe economic crisis in the oil-rich nation continues.According to the report, the National Survey of Living Conditions (Encovi . With a population of over 2.9 million inhabitants, the number of murders per 100,000 inhabitants in the greater Caracas area was 71. In the US, the crime rate is 47.70. In 2009 reported kidnappings more than doubled from the previous year. Venezuela 2020 Crime & Safety Report - OSAC - ReadkonG Chavez's penal code reform of 1999 led to 12,000 criminals being released from jail and put back on the streets without supervision. a 63-year-old carpenter living in a "barrio" or slum in Caracas told Al . [78], At least 80% of kidnappings occur in a limited area around Caracas and including Miranda State. The ideal entry-level account for individual users. Are you interested in testing our business solutions? In 2022, there were nearly 40.4 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in the country, down from a homicide rate of 40.9 year earlier. [18] A more recent 2014 UNICEF report titled Hidden in Plain Sight, it was stated that in Venezuela, along with other Latin American countries, the leading cause of death for males between 10 and 19 is murder. Venezuela - Crime. [126], In 2013, it was reported that Venezuela was one of the most weaponized areas in the world, with one firearm per two citizens. Monthly Reports. Petty theft often ends in murder. If you use our datasets on your site or blog, we ask that you provide attribution via a link back to this page. The 2010 ranking placed Venezuela at number 164, out of 178 ranked countries. [84] The Civil Association for Citizen Control said that more than half of those killed during the protests were killed by colectivos. Private gun ownership was banned in Venezuela in June 2012, but their homicide rate went from 73 per 100,000 people in 2012 to 82 per 100,000 people in 2015. [50] According to Anthony Daqun, former adviser to the Minister of Interior and Justice of Venezuela, "[s]taff of the Directorate of Military Counterintelligence and SEBIN (Bolivarian National Intelligence Service) operate these bands kidnapping and extortion". Many Venezuelans abroad . [146], In May 2020, inmates rioted at the Llanos Penitentiary Center in Guanare, leading to 40 deaths. [40][41] It was also reported that police would intercept the families of the victims and take them to the library of the University Institute of the Scientific Police (IUPOLC) where authorities offered families ways to "streamline procedures and advise them not to give information to the press in return for their aid". Show publisher information . The mass release, however, quickly overwhelmed the capacity of police to maintain order. [130][dead link] The majority of Venezuelans also believed that there was a poor due process of law while also thinking that the criminal justice system was not timely and judgement was ineffective. Cross-border violence, kidnapping, drug trafficking, smuggling, and cattle-rustling occur frequently in areas along the 1,000-mile long border between Venezuela and Colombia. Insight Crime attributes Venezuela's rise in violence to a range . Is Venezuela Safe? 2022 Safety Guide for the Land of Grace Reports of armed robberies continue to occur regularly, day or night, in the affluent Caracas residential sections of Chacao, Baruta and El Hatillo. But perhaps the most ironic contribution to Venezuela's high crime rate may lie in the failure of Chavez's government to fully deliver on the egalitarian . The Poverty Behind Venezuela's Soaring Crime Rate Challenging infrastructure problems and prolific corruption within law enforcement and the judicial system, continue to be important factors with regard to crime response and prevention. Thousands of oil engineers emigrated to Canada, Colombia, and the United States following CHAVEZ's firing of over 20,000 employees . Instead, pranes run criminal organizations outside of prisons and receive security within their facilities. (If the rate were calculated on the basis of the number of females in the national population it would of course be approximately double the figure in the final column). [27][28] Recently, the murder rate in Venezuela is the subject of some dispute according to the Associated Press, since Bolivarian government slowly denied access to homicide statistics. "The perception of petroleum as the cause of Venezuela's corruption had become widespread during this period." The goal of Plan Patria Segura to disarm, prevent organized crime and drug enforcement. [54], According to Brabazon, businesses, families and friends gather money and put it aside for in the event they need it to pay kidnapping ransoms. [65], Two nephews of Maduro's wife Cilia Flores, Efran Antonio Campo Flores and Francisco Flores de Freitas, were involved in the narcosobrinos incident and found guilty for their alleged involvement in illicit activities such as drug trafficking in November 2016, with some of their funds possibly assisting President Maduro's presidential campaign in the 2013 Venezuelan presidential election and potentially for the 2015 Venezuelan parliamentary elections, with the funds mainly used to "help their family stay in power". The crime rate in the United State is 47.77 which is more than 55 countries. This overview of Venezuela's criminal justice system encompasses political and legal systems, the nature and extent of crime, victims, law enforcement, the prosecutorial and judicial process, the judicial system, penalties and sentencing, the prison system, and extradition and treaties. By one estimate the country has the highest per-capita murder rate in the world. [citation needed] The United States State Department and the Government of Canada have warned foreign visitors that they may be subjected to armed robbery, kidnapping and murder. These data are based on perceptions of visitors of this website in the past 3 years. In 2013, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) published the homicide report, and Venezuela was positioned as the second highest homicide rate in the world with a 1. According to Numbeo, Venezuela is the country with the highest crime rate which is 84.36. [66][67][68] One informant stated that the two would often fly out of Terminal 4 of Simon Bolivar International Airport, a terminal reserved for the president. VENEZUELA. The facility had been overcrowded by more than three times its designed capacity.[147]. Level of crime: 22.96: Low: Crime increasing in the past 3 years: 20.71: Low: Worries home broken and things stolen: . So if you have a police force, it's not about whether you're doing your job, it's about whether you're a revolutionary. . 2021 12 Monthly Part 1 Crimes; 2021 11 Monthly Part 1 Crimes; . Crime. When you have a functioning democracy and you have the opposition and the government in power, there's different solutions to problems; people debate, people discuss. Year. 10. Venezuela crime rate & statistics for 2016 was 58.31, a 12.06% increase from 2015. [22], Escalating violent crime, especially murder, had been called "perhaps the biggest concern" of Venezuelans during the nationwide crisis. [5] The Bolivarian government then believed that violence and crime were due to poverty and inequality, though while the government boasted about reducing both poverty and inequality, the murder rate continued to increase in Venezuela. [83], During the 2019 Venezuelan blackouts in March, Maduro called on the armed paramilitary gangs, saying, "The time has come for active resistance". What's it like to live in the world's most violent city? [32][33], The OVV puts the homicide rate for 2013 at approximately 79 per 100,000[27] and the murder rate in the capital Caracas at 122 per 100,000 residents. An overview of the Petare neighborhood of Caracas, which has one of the highest crime rates, July 29, 2015. [3] According to the Venezuelan government, the homicide rate in 2013 dropped from 50 to 39 per 100,000. Belize - 37.79. No one else has these. Use of internet and mobile phones are also a commonplace where criminals can take part in street crime while in prison. [86][87] Amnesty International calls them "armed pro-government supporters who are tolerated or supported by the authorities". Even the government's official statistics show that 1,050 kidnappings were reported this year through October - which is 23 times more than number recorded when Hugo Chvez was elected 13 years ago . Then you can access your favorite statistics via the star in the header. As of 2022, the US Department of State recommends that Americans avoid traveling to Venezuela especially due to its high rate of violent crime such as homicide. If the experts are right, for the year 2009 there was an alarming 9.2 incidents of kidnapping per 100,000 inhabitants in Venezuela. "Homicide rate in Venezuela from 2014 to 2022 (in number of homicides per 100,000 inhabitants)." While municipal police are tasked with responding to crimes, it is the national police that are responsible for investigating and prosecuting the cases. [5] The rise of murders in Venezuela following the Chvez presidency has also been attributed by experts to the corruption of Venezuelan authorities, poor gun control and a poor judiciary system. Sentences are determined by trial judges, and possible penalties include fines, restitution, probation, and incarceration. Venezuela crime out of control, imperiling Chavez re-election - USA TODAY People avoid being out While reported incidents of murder in Venezuela decreased slightly to almost 14,000, the number of reported murders in the State of Miranda (which encompasses the greater Caracas area) increased.