Monday 11 January 2016

Colombian police report lowest homicide figures in decades

Colombia's senior policeman, General Rodolfo Palomino, gave 12,540 as the number of homicides in the country in 2015, saying this was five per cent below the figure of 13,200 for 2014, Radio Santa Fe reported on 5 January. This effectively meant a fall in homicide rates for three years running, as he said that the relevant figure for 2014 was itself "more than 10 per cent" below that of 2013. The figure gave a nationwide homicide rate in 2015 of 25.5 per 100,000 inhabitants. Criminal killings also fell slightly in the capital Bogotá that year, with 10 fewer homicides than in 2014. The capital's police chief, General Hoover Alfredo Penilla Romero gave 1,334 as the number of homicides registerd there between 1 January and 27 December, El Espectador reported on 30 December. That gave a rate of 17.4 homicides per 100,000 residents, apparently the lowest in 30 years and following the general trend of gradual decline in extreme violence in Bogotá. The city's acting mayoress at the time, Gloria Flórez Schneider attributed this in part to a crackdown on carrying weapons and even sharp items.