[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. [137] Over 40 inmates were killed and an unknown number of guards and inmates were wounded during a May 2020 incident at Los Llanos jail near the city of Guanare. The article also explains the problem of police involvement with kidnappings, with the Venezuelan government admitting that 20% of crimes involve authorities and criminologist Mrmol Garca stating that 90% of kidnappings go unreported in Venezuela. [50], Venezuela is a significant route for drug trafficking, with Colombian cocaine and other drugs transiting Venezuela towards the United States and Europe. [80] Despite the Venezuelan government's statements saying that only official authorities can carry weapons for the defense of Venezuela, colectivos are armed with automatic rifles such as AK-47s, submachine guns, fragmentation grenades, and tear gas. Crime statistics indicate the crime rate rose from 700 per 100,000 population in 1972 to 1,300 per 100,000 population in 1990. Many people are victimized by crime because of fear and the perceived inability of Venezuela's criminal justice system to . [51][52] Available data underestimates the amount of express kidnapping, where victims are typically released in less than two days after relatives pay a quick ransom. [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. This was part of Chavez's efforts to show his concern for the poor and downtrodden of Venezuelan society. Caracas, Venezuela reputedly has a murder rate over 100 per 100,000. 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. Kidnappings, whether traditional, express or virtual, are a growing industry in Venezuela. [110] In June 2016, it was reported that the town of Cuman was under effective curfew after an outbreak of mass looting. A private organization, the Venezuelan Violence Observatory (OVV), puts the rate in 2015 at over 90 per 100,000 people. Police are unable to protect less affluent neighborhoods, and as a result, crime is quite common and criminals operate with impunity. Areas of Caracas suffer from extreme poverty which provides gangs and criminal elements with an environment that is conducive to crime. Much like Valencia, Maracaibo offers a big city feel but has a bit of a higher crime rate. [3] According to the Venezuelan government, the homicide rate in 2013 dropped from 50 to 39 per 100,000. The practical effect of the penal code reform was to make police officers more hesitant to make arrests. Find out how to stay safe in Venezuela in 2022 with our guide. Petty theft often ends in murder. The government each year lumps several thousands of deaths into these categories to lower the official homicide rate. [40], Director James Brabazon stated that "kidnapping crimes had skyrocketed after late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez freed thousands of violent prisoners as part of controversial criminal justice system reforms" while also increasing due to Colombian organized crime as well. VENEZUELA. [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. [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. Previously, huge shipments of cocaine leaving Colombia and destined for the U.S. were mostly relayed via Mexico on an Eastern Pacific route. 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. Currently, you are using a shared account. Level of crime: 22.96: Low: Crime increasing in the past 3 years: 20.71: Low: Worries home broken and things stolen: . 2. [52], Many kidnappings are not reported to police in Venezuela since they are not trusted. [114][115], During the presidency of the Hugo Chvez, more than 20 programs were created attempting to deter crime, though insecurity continued to increase following their implementation. marked by a further increase in the number and rate of violent deaths" showing that in four years, the murder rate had increased from 25 per 100,000 in 1999 to 44 per 100,000 in 2003. . The prosecutorial and judicial process is concerned with rights of the accused and procedures for bringing suspects to trial. South Africa - 36.40. Reports of armed robberies continue to occur regularly, day or night, in the affluent Caracas residential sections of Chacao, Baruta and El Hatillo. But the Venezuela Violence Observatory, a respected nonprofit group, estimates that murders dropped from 89 per 100,000 people in 2017 to 81.4 last year. Colectivos are thought to be partially responsible for the increase in the Venezuelan murder rate, according to the Metropolitan Observatory on Citizen Security. [139] According to Alessio Bruni of the United Nations Committee against Torture, "a typical problem of the prison system is gun violence, nearly circulating freely within prisons, causing hundreds and hundreds of people killed every year" with the UN committee alarmed at reports that between 2004 and 2014, 4,791 inmates were killed and 9,931 injured. 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. According to the BBC article, 4 of 5 kidnappings are express kidnappings which are not included in government statistics. Please check your download folder. The criminal threat level is considered critical for the capital city of Caracas and all of Venezuela. [142], In Venezuelan prisons, inmates partake in gladiatorial matches to settle disputes. If the experts are right, for the year 2009 there was an alarming 9.2 incidents of kidnapping per 100,000 inhabitants in Venezuela. Some 5.5 million of an estimated 32 million Venezuelans have fled their country since 2014, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported in October. Since 2017, when it peaked . Most violent crimes in Caracas, especially murder, involve firearms. This left police across the country vastly out-gunned by narcotraffickers and other criminal groups. Most robbery victims who have resisted criminal demands have usually been seriously injured as a result of their noncompliance. In 2020, the country had a crime rate of 99.7 per 100,000 people. From 1917, "greater awareness of the country's oil potential had the pernicious effect of increasing the corruption and intrigue amongst Gomez's family and entourage, the consequences of which would be felt up to 1935 B. S. McBeth (2002). [15] The U.S. Bureau of Diplomatic Security stated that there were 73 daily violent deaths in 2018. [50] In Venezuela's prisons, inmates will use "telemarketing" strategies, creating fear in individuals so that they will pay before possibly being kidnapped. In 2015, 17,778 people were murdered in Venezuela; however, the VOV revealed that those numbers were as high as 27,875. "Homicide rate in Venezuela from 2014 to 2022 (in number of homicides per 100,000 inhabitants)." [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. It is estimated that Venezuela's population will reach its peak of 35.57 million by 2063. The age of criminal responsibility is 18 years. If you use our chart images on your site or blog, we ask that you provide attribution via a link back to this page. ", "Venezuela election is a high stakes affair for local vigilante groups", "Colectivos de paz accionan armas de fuego en la Rmulo Gallegos ante mirada de la GNB", "Colectivos estaran involucrados e12 homicidios 25/03/14Caracas", "Venezuela violence puts focus on militant 'colectivo' groups", "Nights of terror: Attacks and illegal raids on homes in Venezuela", "OAS says to present evidence of Venezuela rights violations to The Hague", "Colectivos en Venezuela: Organizaciones sociales o criminales? [48] In 2013, consulting firm Control Risk ranked Venezuela 5th in the world for kidnappings, only behind Mexico, India, Nigeria and Pakistan. [136], The Acarigua prison riot in 2019, left 29 prisoners dead, and 19 guards injured. 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. Get full access to all features within our Business Solutions. Are you interested in testing our business solutions? Within the embassy community, Venezuelan employees fall victim to crime far more frequently than their American employee colleagues. Learn more about how Statista can support your business. [13] In July 2015, BBC News stated that due to the common shortages in Venezuela, every week there are videos shared online showing Venezuelans looting supermarkets and trucks for food. [58], In 2008, the U.S. Department of Treasury accused two senior Venezuelan government officials and one former official of providing material assistance for drug-trafficking operations carried out by the FARC guerrilla group in Colombia. The 2010 ranking placed Venezuela at number 164, out of 178 ranked countries. Its 2018 report, based on input from . [50], There is no reliable data on kidnapping in Venezuela and available data is considered an underestimate. 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 . [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. This unindustrialized nation is steeped in natural beauty and just waiting to be discovered, but this doesn't mean you can go wandering alone in the Amazon. The police allegedly collaborated with the robbers, receiving a cut of what they stole. [81] Chvez eliminated the Metropolitan Police in 2011, turning security over to the colectivos in some Caracas barrios. Venezuela. [6] Upon Chvez's death in 2013, Venezuela was ranked the most insecure nation in the world by Gallup. [132], Carlos Nieto, head of Window to Freedom, alleges that heads of gangs acquire military weapons from the state saying, They have the types of weapons that can only be obtained by the country's armed forces. [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. If the value is 0, it means it is perceived as very low, and if the value is 100, it means it is . #ga-ad {display: none;} Perez also states that evidence shows that crime is organized from within these prisons. The higher the value, the more survey respondents believe it is high in their country. Venezuela 2020 Crime & Safety Report Kidnappings also increased in the second half of the year, and it became common to demand ransom in foreign currency. According to a study by the opposition-controlled National Assembly, the annual inflation rate reached 1,300,000% in the 12 months to November 2018. No figure for the country's homicide rate was released that year. Since then, Venezuela has faced extreme inflation that exacerbates with each passing year. There have been several high profile kidnappings that have resulted in murder, including the killings of three minor Canadian brothers, a wealthy Italo-Venezuelan businessman, and the daughter of a senior Venezuelan military commander. [104] The Metropolitan Police force in Caracas was so corrupt that it was accused of assisting some of the 17,000 kidnappings. [99] Venezuela has been ranked one of the most corrupt countries on the Corruption Perceptions Index, going back to the start of the survey in 1995. Venezuela crime rate & statistics for 2017 was 49.88, a 14.47% decline from 2016. This high crime rate is due to the high levels of poverty and violence in Venezuela. statistic alerts) please log in with your personal account. Colombia's National Liberation Army (ELN) and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are active in Venezuela. From 2019 to 2020, the population change was -0.28%. [89], Colectivos sometimes provide protection from crime in some neighborhoods they are committed to,[90] though some neighborhoods report that colectivos attack neighbors themselves. There is a high threat from violent crime and kidnapping throughout Venezuela, which has one of the highest murder rates in the world. In some cases, crime has grown so pervasive in Venezuela that the military is ordered to avoid public places during nighttime hours since criminals often attempt to steal their weapons, with robberies in the country often targeting unaware individuals using a kill first, steal later method. 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. [4][12] Most crime in Venezuela remains unpunished according to Venezuela's Prosecutor General's Office, as 98% of crimes in Venezuela do not result in prosecution. [69][70][71][72][73][74], According to the Trafficking in Persons Report 2014 by the State Department of the United States, "Venezuela is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor". Citing government figures, a prominent opposition leader in Venezuela has said the country's impunity rate hovers at about 98 percent, an assertion that will likely feed rising perceptions of insecurity. Armed robberies take place in broad daylight throughout the city, including areas generally presumed safe and frequented by tourists. . 5. Monthly Reports. The poverty rate in Venezuela is 82 percent, and the unemployment rate is 18 percent. Please check your download folder. [49] News.com.au called Venezuela capital "the kidnap capital of the world" in 2013, noting that Venezuela had the highest kidnapping rate in the world and that 5 people were kidnapped for a ransom every day. [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. United States of America. [133] According to the Venezuelan Observatory of Prisons (OVP), from 1999 to 2015, there were 22,998 violent incidents, with 16,417 injured and 6,581 inmates killed. Congresswoman Delsa Solorzano -- also the vice president of opposition party Un . Maria recalls a shift in the nature of the crimes as desperation fueled robberies with the threat of violence. February 8, 2023. [83], During the 2019 Venezuelan blackouts in March, Maduro called on the armed paramilitary gangs, saying, "The time has come for active resistance". For adolescents from 10 to 19 years of age, the homicide rate is 39 per 100,000 people; for males between of those ages, the rate is 74 per 100,000, while it's just 3 per 100,000 for females in . And, Qatar is the country with the least crime rate with 12.29 people per 100,000. [78], In the World Report 2014 by Human Rights Watch, the organization stated that "Venezuelan prisons are among the most violent in Latin America". Table 1Crime in the United States, by Volume and Rate per 100,000 Inhabitants, 2000-2019 Table 1ACrime in the United States, Percent Change in Volume and Rate per 100,000 Inhabitants for 2 years, 5 years, and 10 years. [96], Corruption in Venezuela is high by world standards, and has been for much of the 20th century. However, some things travelers should be aware of before they go. In 2011, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States denounced the practice of "The Coliseum" saying "The Commission reiterates to the State the need to take immediate and effective steps to prevent such incidents from happening again" after two inmates died and 54 more were injured from these practices. [29] A non-governmental organization known as the Venezuelan Violence Observatory (OVV), which collects crime data from seven different universities around the country, provides data of homicide rates in Venezuela. * The figure refers to the violent death rate, which includes violent deaths in which the cause of death is unknown, as well as deadly confrontations involving security forces. [80] In 2006, they received arms and funding from the state when they were brought under the government's community councils. 25 Years Population Growth Rate 1.44% Sex Ratio 0-14 Years - male/female 1.04 Sex Ratio 15-24 Years - male/female 1.01 Sex Ratio 25-54 Years - male/female . Crime statistics indicate the crime rate rose from 700 per 100,000 population in 1972 to 1,300 per 100,000 population in 1990. Aponte also claimed that Henry Rangel, former defense minister of Venezuela and General Clver Alcal Cordones were both involved with the drug trade in Venezuela. Venezuela's 30 prison facilities are operated by the Ministry of Justice throughout the country, and the prison population is 40 percent over capacity. People avoid being out During the tenure of Minister of Prison Services Iris Varela, pranes were given control of prisons with the belief that they would maintain leadership and lower violence. [26], Venezuela is currently among the countries with the highest murder rates in the world. In 1990, 31,861 violent crimes, 184,126 property crimes, and 6,405 drug crimes were reported. [93] FOX News says that, "Much of the crime has been attributed by analysts to government-backed gangsreferred to in Spanish as colectivoswho were deliberately put in place by the government", and that "while Venezuelan citizens were stripped of their legal recourse to bear arms, the 'collectivos'established by Chavez when came to powerwere legally locked and loaded," critics say. Crime rates in Venezuela. [132], There are a total of 34 prisons in Venezuela holding about 50,000 inmates. Insight Crime attributes Venezuela's rise in violence to a range . [22], Venezuela is especially dangerous toward foreign travelers and investors who are visiting. With 16,000 homicides last year, Venezuela became the world's second deadliest country. [86][87] Amnesty International calls them "armed pro-government supporters who are tolerated or supported by the authorities". 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's current population growth rate is in negatives, mostly due to negative net migration. Members of the security forces charged with or convicted of crimes rarely were imprisoned. Under his administration, extrajudicial killings rose dramatically with over 8,000 Venezuelans being killed by state authorities between 2015 and 2017. [66][67] Due to the fact that the "sobrinos" (nephews in Spanish) of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were arrested for narcotics trafficking, the media described the nephews as the narcosobrinos. 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 2009 reported kidnappings more than doubled from the previous year. Due to the Venezuelan government not complying to the standards of stopping human trafficking, the State Department placed Venezuelan on its "black list" as a Tier 3 country, which opened the possibility of Venezuela facing sanctions. While the government has refused to release its own statistics for years, a recent report by an NGO, the Venezuelan Observatory on Violence, estimates that 24,000 people were murdered in 2013 . [56] According to Interpol, the files found by Colombian forces were considered to be authentic. Venezuela Crime Rate & Statistics 1990-2023, Venezuela crime rate & statistics for 2017 was, Venezuela crime rate & statistics for 2016 was, Venezuela crime rate & statistics for 2015 was, Venezuela crime rate & statistics for 2014 was. Home invasions have occurred in buildings where U.S. Embassy employees reside. Despite these high rates of violence, the international community knows relatively little about the dynamics underlying conflict in the city. By comparison, the murder rate for New York City is 6.4, 3.8 for Los Angeles and 18.2 for Chicago. [5] Between the 1960s until the late-1980s, the murder rate stood between 8 and 10 homicides per 100,000. Varela was also known to be acquainted with El Conejo, as critic Carlos Nieto showed the reporter a photo of Varela with El Conejo on his bed. Lots of frustration, little hope. . [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. Economic Indicators for Venezuela including actual values, historical data, and latest data updates for the Venezuela economy. Because groups that specialize in these types of crimes operate with impunity or fear of incarceration, more entrepreneurial criminals hit the streets. Crimes vary widely between states and countries, with crime rates much higher than in the USA's largest . San Antonio Prison was controlled by El Conejo (The Rabbit), a powerful jailed drug trafficker who makes his "enforcers" patrol the prison. Chavez's penal code reform of 1999 led to 12,000 criminals being released from jail and put back on the streets without supervision. [95] As blackouts continued, on 31 March, citizens protested the lack of electricity and water in Caracas and other cities; Maduro called again on the colectivos, asking them "to defend the peace of every barrio, of every block". Venezuela (83.76) Papua New Guinea (80.79) South Africa (76.86) Afghanistan (76.31) Honduras (74.54) Trinidad and . [46] On 22 September 2014, President Maduro announced that his government would invest $47 million to create 60 new disarmament centers, and $39 million to fund a plan under which soldiers would patrol the most dangerous neighborhoods. [25] The New Yorker reporter found that even stairwells in a public hospital were not safe from robbers, who preyed on staff and patients despite the large number of security forces guarding the hospital, saying this was because the police were assigned to contain journalists who might embarrass the government with exposs on the state of the hospital; they were not assigned to protect its occupants. [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." San Pedro Sula, in the northwest of the country, is at the center of much of this small Central American country's violence. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in murders per 100,000 people, the country is surpassed only by Cte d'Ivoire, El Salvador, and Honduras. 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. Accessed March 04, 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/984669/homicide-rate-venezuela/, InSight Crime. Honduras took the first position with a This is a situation that currently affects the life of every Venezuelan. Venezuela crime rate & statistics for 2015 was 52.04, a 17.85% decline from 2014. Venezuela crime soars amid declining poverty. According to the Public Ministrys 2010 annual report, approximately 9 percent of the 378,108 cases involving common crimes resulted in the filing of criminal charges. [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". Maracaibo has a crime index of 83.25 and a safety index of 16.75, which is still lower than Caracas and many other big cities - but it might be a bit higher than you're willing to face. Statista. "The perception of petroleum as the cause of Venezuela's corruption had become widespread during this period." Only a very small percentage of criminals are tried and convicted. Thousands of oil engineers emigrated to Canada, Colombia, and the United States following CHAVEZ's firing of over 20,000 employees . The murder rate in Venezuela, one of the world's highest-crime countries, dipped in 2018 as some criminals apparently joined millions of law-abiding compatriots in leaving the crisis-stricken . In 2012, La Planta, a prison built in 1964 with a capacity of 350 inmates, held almost 2,500 inmates with many armed with heavy weapons. 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 . Edgardo Lander on Reality Asserts Itself (7/9)", "IACHR Reiterates Need to Prevent Acts of Violence in Venezuelan Prison", "Ria colectiva de Uribana cobra dos vidas y deja 128 heridos", "Coliseo en Uribana sigue y llega a 128 heridos", "Venezuela prison riot kills at least 40, including warden", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crime_in_Venezuela&oldid=1127469872, This page was last edited on 14 December 2022, at 22:16. Homicides decreased by 2% . Maracaibo. In 1990, 31,861 violent crimes, 184,126 property crimes, and 6,405 drug crimes were reported. Violent crime is rife in both the capital Caracas and the interior, and as a foreigner you are a prime target. The discovery of oil worsened political corruption,[98] and by the late 1970s, Juan Pablo Prez Alfonso's description of oil as "the Devil's excrement" became a common expression in Venezuela. While the police will generally respond to an emergency situation, investigative follow-up is intermittent and perpetrators of crime are rarely caught. Venezuela's murder rate decreased from 92 per 100,000 in 2016 to 81.4 in 2018, according to the Venezuelan Violence Observatory (OVV), due in part to criminals joining millions of other Venezuelans in fleeing the country. Levels of gratuitous violence are on the increase and the majority of criminals use lethal weapons in the course of carrying out their activities. There's a lot of poverty in the country, which can lead to desperate measures taken by some people. [146], In May 2020, inmates rioted at the Llanos Penitentiary Center in Guanare, leading to 40 deaths.