NCJ Number
150123
Journal
Analisis Socio-Juridicos Dated: (July 1990) Pages: 35-73
Date Published
1990
Length
39 pages
Annotation
Official crime and criminal behavior trends in Colombia from 1985-1989 are summarized, comparing national crime statistics gathered from the national police and the national courts.
Abstract
The national court statistics agency, Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE), is described, and its information gathering sources, methods, and information compared to those of the Policia Nacional statistics system. It is suggested that, for this particular time period, the police statistics are more accurate than DANE. Statistics of both agencies are presented by crime type, departments (states), cities, urban versus rural, and guerilla-type actions or massacres. Characteristics of the Colombian criminal population are outlined by sex, age, education, and mental state at time of crime. Crime percentages by type of criminal act and degree of harm inflicted are also given. It is concluded that most crime occurs in the growing cities with 64 percent occurring in the 23 departmental capitals; 36 percent in the cities of Bogota, Medellin, and Cali. Crime type and criminal act vary so greatly by region that no general trend is discernible. According to both police records and DANE, crime decreased during this 5-year period.