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 . But drug interdiction efforts and law enforcement pressure . Venezuela has a crime index of 83.76, the highest of any country in the world. San Antonio Prison was controlled by El Conejo (The Rabbit), a powerful jailed drug trafficker who makes his "enforcers" patrol the prison. [143], However a year later, one "Coliseum" in Uribana left 2 dead and 128 injured. [40][41] At that time, they would advise families not to speak to report the murder of their family member to the media in exchange to have the process of recovering the victims body in an expedited manner. [50], There is no reliable data on kidnapping in Venezuela and available data is considered an underestimate. Venezuela has extradition treaties with most Latin American countries. 2021 12 Monthly Part 1 Crimes; 2021 11 Monthly Part 1 Crimes; . [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". Venezuela Drug Addiction Problem. 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. [1] Human Rights Watch claims that the "police commit one of every five crimes" and that thousands of people have been killed by police officers acting with impunity (only 3% of officers have been charged in cases against them). ", InSight Crime, Homicide rate in Venezuela from 2014 to 2022 (in number of homicides per 100,000 inhabitants) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/984669/homicide-rate-venezuela/ (last visited March 04, 2023), Homicide rate in Venezuela from 2014 to 2022 (in number of homicides per 100,000 inhabitants) [Graph], InSight Crime, February 8, 2023. [108] As a result of the high levels of crime, Venezuelans were forced to change their ways of life due to the large insecurities they continuously experienced. [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". They occur when criminals force their victims to extract cash from ATM machines or to make purchases with the victims credit cards until the card is shut off. [82][83], During the 2014 Venezuelan protests against Maduro, colectivos acted against the opposition protesters. An overview of the Petare neighborhood of Caracas, which has one of the highest crime rates, July 29, 2015. In the case of high-profile killings, the authorities quickly round up suspects, but rarely produce evidence linking these individuals to the crime. 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. Level of crime: 93.11: Very High: Crime increasing in the past 3 years: 86.72: Very High: Worries home broken and things stolen: 76.20: High: Worries being mugged or robbed . Many people are victimized by crime because of fear and the perceived inability of Venezuela's criminal justice system to prevent crime. 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. The judicial system is composed of the Supreme Court, superior courts, trial courts, and special courts. [37] The government says there were 60 daily homicides in 2016, and 45 daily in 2015,[38] corresponding with Venezuela's downward economic spiral, according to NBC News; the OVV says the numbers are higher. Violent crime is rife in both the capital Caracas and the interior, and as a foreigner you are a prime target. The penal reform also included provisions for the prosecution of any police officer found to have made an arrest "without cause." Prison population total. 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. Qatar has the lowest crime rate in the world, followed by the UAE, according to Numbeo statistics. The violent crime of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter increased 0.3 percent in 2019 when compared with the 2018 . We have provided a few examples below that you can copy and paste to your site: Your image export is now complete. It mainly involves birds, turtles and snakes, and when caught, perpetrators . According to the World Atlas, Venezuela has the highest crime rate globally. [41], In 2011, the Venezuelan government's statistics reported an average of two kidnappings per day, while other estimates showed 50 kidnappings per day. The ideal entry-level account for individual users. Under his administration, extrajudicial killings rose dramatically with over 8,000 Venezuelans being killed by state authorities between 2015 and 2017. Lesotho (41.2 per 100,000) Lesotho is a small country found in southern Africa. [79] According to InSight Crime, there are over a dozen mega-gangs in Venezuela, with some having up to 300 members. [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. 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. [48], On 13 May 2013, President Nicolas Maduro initiated Plan Patria Segura saying "we have decided to fight to build a secure homeland". 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 . Previously, huge shipments of cocaine leaving Colombia and destined for the U.S. were mostly relayed via Mexico on an Eastern Pacific route. Venezuela. . Between 1998-2006, there were 90.027 of murders in Venezuela. 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. Data prior to 2022 were retrieved from previous releases of the publication. Venezuela has been in an economic crisis since the election of Hugo Chavez in 1998 when the country's oil-based socialist economy began to rapidly decline. [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. [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. Venezuela - 36.69. Let's get into it. [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. Despite these high rates of violence, the international community knows relatively little about the dynamics underlying conflict in the city. The prosecutorial and judicial process is concerned with rights of the accused and procedures for bringing suspects to trial. [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. 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. 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. [78], In the World Report 2014 by Human Rights Watch, the organization stated that "Venezuelan prisons are among the most violent in Latin America". [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. 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. . Since 2017, when it peaked . Despite the introduction of the new law, the majority of cases are not resolved and only received the Venezuelan government's attention in high-profile cases. More than 330 police officers were murdered across Venezuela last year, . 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, InSight Crime. The penalty for illegally selling or carrying a firearm is a prison sentence of up to 20 years. There is a high threat from violent crime and kidnapping throughout Venezuela, which has one of the highest murder rates in the world. The practical effect of the penal code reform was to make police officers more hesitant to make arrests. 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. Profit from the additional features of your individual account. Individuals or small groups usually commit homicide, whereas killing in armed conflict is usually committed by fairly cohesive groups of up to several hundred members and is thus usually excluded. [24], The U.S. Bureau of Diplomatic Security says most of the violence comes from organized street gangs, and attributes criminal activity to four factors: "often corrupt" underpaid police, an "inefficient and politicized judicial system", problems in the prison system, and widespread availability of weapons. [126], In 2013, it was reported that Venezuela was one of the most weaponized areas in the world, with one firearm per two citizens. [136], The Acarigua prison riot in 2019, left 29 prisoners dead, and 19 guards injured. Venezuela under President Hugo Chvez has the fourth-highest murder rate in the world and an abysmal crime-solving rate. From 2019 to 2020, the population change was -0.28%. The age of criminal responsibility is 18 years. Instead, pranes run criminal organizations outside of prisons and receive security within their facilities. United States of America. In August the attorney general's office reported that of the more than 6 thousand police officers implicated in killings during the last 5 years, only 88 were convicted. Use Ask Statista Research Service. Those injured had to be assisted by a church in the area. 5. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. 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. The poverty rate in Venezuela is 82 percent, and the unemployment rate is 18 percent. note 1: the country lies on major sea and air routes linking North and South America note 2: Venezuela has some of the most unique geology in the world; tepuis are massive table-top mountains of the western Guiana Highlands that tend to be isolated and thus support unique endemic plant and animal species; their sheer cliffsides account for some of the most spectacular . The prison is described as a "paradise", with a community including pools, bars, a boxing ring and many other accommodations for any visitor of prisoners who can stay the night at the prison for up to three days per week. Intentional homicides are estimates of unlawful homicides purposely inflicted as a result of domestic disputes, interpersonal violence, violent conflicts over land resources, intergang violence over turf or control, and predatory violence and killing by armed groups. These data are based on perceptions of visitors of this website in the past 3 years. Venezuela has 1.5 police officers per 1,000 residents, while U.S. cities average 3.8 per 1,000. Latin America & Caribbean: homicide rate 2022, by country, Latin America & Caribbean: intentional homicide rate 2020, by country. [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. . [16], In the early-20th century, Venezuela was limited to violent crimes occurring in rural areas. The new statistics come from the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ), which released its mid-year 2022 crime report on Thursday, examining crime data from 29 cities. In a report . [26], Venezuela is currently among the countries with the highest murder rates in the world. * 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. The State Department also states that the "Government of Venezuela does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking" explaining that Venezuelan authorities trained government officials about trafficking, but the Venezuelan government "did not publicly document progress on prosecutions and convictions of trafficking offenders or on victim identification and assistance".