Crime in Chile

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Numerous factors have caused the immensely crime rates in Latin America. Two significant factors that have been influencing violence are high poverty rates and consistently high amounts of drug trafficking. Note the relatively low porverty rate in Chile and the low amounts of drug seizure. Data: UNODC, 2012. LatinAmericaViolence.svg
Numerous factors have caused the immensely crime rates in Latin America. Two significant factors that have been influencing violence are high poverty rates and consistently high amounts of drug trafficking. Note the relatively low porverty rate in Chile and the low amounts of drug seizure. Data: UNODC, 2012.

Crime in Chile is investigated by the Chilean police. However, unlike the majority of Latin America, criminal activity in Chile is low, making Chile one of the most stable and safest nations in the region. Various analysts and politicians concur that in the 2020s crime in Chile is on the rise to levels similar to the rest of Latin America. [1] Increased murder rates and illegal drug trade are attributed by some to illegal immigration, other attribute the rise of crime more generally as the result of increased globalization. [1]

Contents

Crime by type

Murder

In 2012, Chile had a murder rate of 3.1 per 100,000 population. [2] There were a total of 550 murders in Chile in 2012. [2] In 2017, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime informed a rate of 4.3 intentional homicide rate per 100,000 population [2] [3]

Corruption

As of 2006, there were isolated reports of government corruption in Chile. Transparency International's annual Corruption Index recorded that the Chilean public perceived the country as relatively free of corruption. [4]

Domestic violence

Violence against women was prevalent across all classes of Chilean society until 1994. [5] As of the early 1990s, it was reported that domestic violence affects about fifty percent of the women in Chile. [5] The Intrafamily Violence Law passed in 1994 was the first political measure to address violence in the home, but because the law would not pass without being accepted by both sides, the law was weak in the way it addressed victim protection and punishment for abusers. [6] The law was later reformed in 2005. [7] In 2019, amid the ongoing Catholic sex abuse crisis in Chile, non-retroactive legislation was passed removing the statute of limitations for trying people for committing sex abuse against children in Chile. [8] [9]

Historical crime

Banditry and piracy

During the 19th and early 20th century banditry was widespread in Araucanía and Central Chile.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder</span> Unlawful killing of a human with malice aforethought

Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. This state of mind may, depending upon the jurisdiction, distinguish murder from other forms of unlawful homicide, such as manslaughter. Manslaughter is killing committed in the absence of malice, such as in the case of voluntary manslaughter brought about by reasonable provocation, or diminished capacity. Involuntary manslaughter, where it is recognized, is a killing that lacks all but the most attenuated guilty intent, recklessness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homicide</span> Killing of a human by another human

Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime in Mexico</span> Overview of crime in Mexico

Crime is one of the most urgent concerns facing Mexico, as Mexican drug trafficking rings play a major role in the flow of cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin, and marijuana transiting between Latin America and the United States. Drug trafficking has led to corruption, which has had a deleterious effect on Mexico's Federal Representative Republic. Drug trafficking and organized crime have been a major source of violent crime. Drug cartels and gangs have also branched out to conduct alternative illegal activities for profit, including sex trafficking in Mexico. Some of the most increasingly violent states in Mexico in 2020 included Guanajuato, Zacatecas, Michoacán, Jalisco, and Querétaro. Some of the world's most violent cities are reportedly within the state of Guanajuato with extortion from criminal groups now being commonplace. The state of Zacatecas is said to be valuable to multiple organized crime groups for drug trafficking, specifically methamphetamine to the United States. As of 2021, Michoacán is experiencing increased instances of extortion and kidnapping due to a growing presence and escalation in the armed conflicts between CJNG and Cárteles Unidos on regions bordering the neighboring state of Jalisco. CJNG is also currently battling the Los Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel in the North Mexican region of Sonora.

Crime has been recorded in the United States since its founding and has fluctuated significantly over time, with a sharp rise after 1900 and reaching a broad bulging peak between the 1970s and early 1990s. After 1992, crime rates have generally trended downwards each year, with the exceptions of a slight increase in property crimes in 2001 and increases in violent crimes in 2005-2006, 2014-2016 and 2020-2021. While official federal crime data beginning in 2021 has a wide margin of error due to the incomplete adoption of the National Incident-Based Reporting System by government agencies, federal data for 2020-2021 and limited data from select U.S. cities collected by the nonpartisan Council on Criminal Justice showed significantly elevated rates of homicide and motor vehicle theft in 2020-2022. Although overall crime rates have fallen far below the peak of crime seen in the United States during the late 1980s and early 1990s, the homicide rate in the U.S. has remained high, relative to other "high income"/developed nations, with eight major U.S. cities ranked among the 50 cities with the highest homicide rate in the world in 2022. The aggregate cost of crime in the United States is significant, with an estimated value of $4.9 trillion reported in 2021. Data from the first half of 2023, from government and private sector sources show that the murder rate has dropped, as much as 12% in as many as 90 cities across the United States. The drop in homicide rates is not uniform across the country however, with some cities such as Memphis, TN, showing an uptick in murder rates.

Crime in Chicago has been tracked by the Chicago Police Department's Bureau of Records since the beginning of the 20th century. The city's overall crime rate, especially the violent crime rate, is higher than the US average. Gangs in Chicago have a role in the city's crime rate. The number of homicides in Chicago hit a 25-year high in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime in Italy</span> Crime within Italy

Italian crime rates, though low compared to other developed countries, are present in various forms throughout the nation. Violent crimes, which include instances of murder, sexual violence, and assault, are quite rare in Italy evidenced by its homicide rate of 0.51 in 2021, the lowest in Europe aside from Luxembourg and Slovenia. However, Italy is notorious for its organized crime groups, which are present worldwide and collectively referred to as the Mafia. This has made financial crimes such as corruption, theft, and trafficking more widespread in the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime in Brazil</span> National crime information on Brazil

Crime in Brazil involves an elevated incidence of violent and non-violent crimes. Brazil's homicide rate was 27.4 per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Brazil has the highest number of intentional homicides in the world, with 57,358 in 2018. In recent years, the homicide rate in Brazil has begun to decline. The homicide rate was 20.64 per 100,000 in 2020 with 43,879 killings, similar to 2019, but down from 30.67 per 100,000 in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime in Russia</span> Types of crime in Russia

Crime in Russia refers to the multivalent issues of organized crime, extensive political and police corruption, and all aspects of criminality at play in Russia. Violent crime in Siberia is much more apparent than in Western Russia.

Despite a reportedly low crime rate in China, crime still occurs in various forms. The Chinese government does not release exact unified statistics on crime rates and the rate of criminal offending due to such information being considered politically sensitive. Scarce official statistics released are the subject of much academic debate due to allegations of statistical fabrication, under-reporting and corruption. The illegal drug trade in China is a significant driver of violent crime, including murder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime and violence in Latin America</span> Crime information

Crime and violence affect the lives of millions of people in Latin America. Some consider social inequality to be a major contributing factor to levels of violence in Latin America, where the state fails to prevent crime and organized crime takes over State control in areas where the State is unable to assist the society such as in impoverished communities. In the years following the transitions from authoritarianism to democracy, crime and violence have become major problems in Latin America. The region experienced more than 2.5 million murders between 2000 and 2017. Several studies indicated the existence of an epidemic in the region; the Pan American Health Organization called violence in Latin America "the social pandemic of the 20th century." Apart from the direct human cost, the rise in crime and violence has imposed significant social costs and has made much more difficult the processes of economic and social development, democratic consolidation and regional integration in the Americas.

Domestic violence in Chile is a prevalent problem as of 2004. Domestic violence describes violence by an intimate partner or other family members, regardless of the place the violence occurs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime in Paraguay</span>

Crime in Paraguay has increased in recent years with criminals often targeting those thought to be wealthy. Although most crime in Paraguay is nonviolent, there has been an increase in the use of weapons and there have been incidents where extreme violence has been used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime in Nigeria</span>

Crime in Nigeria is investigated by the Nigerian Police. Nigeria is considered to be a country with a high level of crime, ranking 17th among the least peaceful countries in the world. During the first half of 2022, almost 6,000 people were killed by jihadists, kidnappers, bandits or the Nigerian army.

Colombia has a high crime rate due to being a center for the cultivation and trafficking of cocaine. The Colombian conflict began in the mid-1960s and is a low-intensity conflict between Colombian governments, paramilitary groups, crime syndicates, and left-wing guerrillas such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and the National Liberation Army (ELN), fighting each other to increase their influence in Colombian territory. Two of the most important international actors that have contributed to the Colombian conflict are multinational companies and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime in the Philippines</span>

Crime is present in various forms in the Philippines, and remains a serious issue throughout the country. Illegal drug trade, human trafficking, arms trafficking, murder, corruption and domestic violence remain significant concerns.

Crime in Peru has steadily decreased since the 2010s and into the 2020s. Peru's main indicators of crime are the homicide rate and the victimization rate; the victimization rate dropped from forty percent in 2011 to under twenty five percent in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime in Liberia</span>

Crime in Liberia is investigated by the Liberian police.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime in Latvia</span> Overview of the crime in Latvia

Crime in Latvia is relatively low, by global standards, especially compared to previous years, when it was named the "crime capital of Europe" by Forbes in 2008. The homicide rate in Latvia was 4.9 per 100,000 people in 2020, a sharp drop from 10 cases per 100,000 people in 2000, and has been steadily decreasing, but has seen recent increases. The United States Department of State has assessed Latvia's security rating as "medium", with a moderate crime rate. In recent times, crime has been increasing, particularly due to many Latvians stranded because of the COVID-19 pandemic returning to Latvia and choosing to commit crime. According to Interpol, Latvia is considered an attractive place for regional and organized criminals involved in drug trafficking, arms trafficking, human trafficking, or smuggling. According to the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia, a third of all women in Latvia have suffered some form of sexual violence or rape while men are subjected to violence outside the family.

References

  1. 1 2 Toro, Daniela (2022-05-04). "¿El fin de la "exclusividad" chilena?: Expertos destacan aumento de violencia y analizan estadísticas frente a Latinoamérica". Emol (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-05-04.
  2. 1 2 3 "Global study on homicide". United Nations : Office on Drugs and Crime. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  3. "Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) - Chile | Data". data.worldbank.org. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  4. Department Of State. The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs (2007-03-06). "Chile". 2001-2009.state.gov. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  5. 1 2 Culliton, K. M. (1994, January). Legal remedies for domestic violence in Chile & the US--Cultural relativism, myths & realities. Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law .
  6. Haas, Liesl (2010). Feminist Policymaking in Chile. University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press.
  7. "Observatorio de Igualdad de Género" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
  8. "Chile removes statute of limitations on child sex abuse amid Church crisis". Reuters. 2019-07-11. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  9. Schlumpf, Heidi. "Speaker: Abuse survivors can't wait for bishops to learn from crisis | National Catholic Reporter". Ncronline.org. Retrieved 2021-11-22.