Insecurity in Bogotá continues to be one of the greatest challenges for the current administration, since during the last months of 2021 and during the first half of 2022, it has been one of the main concerns of citizens.
Although the Secretary of Security has disclosed in its most recent report that during June 2021 and June 2022 there was an 18% decrease in cases of personal theft, as well as shoplifting, which decreased 59.7%; cell phone theft also fell by 21.8%; and home theft by 45.5%, the perception of insecurity among Bogota citizens is still persistent.
You may be interested in: “It has no reverse”: Claudia López, emphatic that Metro de Bogotá will be elevated
This is why the National Police has compiled the situations in which citizens continue to be victims of theft by criminals who besiege different scenes in the city. Here are some of them:
Public transport
Without being a secret for many, the ‘tickling’ modality is one of the most frequent in the transport system that leaves citizens without their belongings and without realizing it. However, there have already been numerous cases in which citizens have been robbed inside stations and articulated, after being intimidated with a knife.
It should be noted that rush hour is one of the most frequent where these cases are recorded, so the authorities recommend Bogotans not to lose sight of their personal belongings.
Cell phone theft on public roads
According to figures from the Ministry of Security, More than 27,900 cell phones have been stolen in Bogotá between January and June 2022, representing an increase of 5.5% in this crime, compared to the same period last year.
Commonly, the ‘raponazo’ is one of the most well-known forms of theft in these cases, although going through lonely roads also turns citizens into victims of theft, who turn out to be intimidated with firearms and knives.
Bars and restaurants
In these cases, the criminal structures that use scopolamine in these establishments to commit large-scale theft are the most frequent.
Currently, searches are being carried out in the city for criminals who have already been identified and whose strategy is to drug their victims to later leave them disoriented and without their belongings.
Also read: [Video] Police dog discovered two dump trucks full of cocaine in Bogotá
Traffic lights
So far in 2022, the figures show that they have been registered 500 cases of thefts inside vehicles, who are stopped at traffic lights and turn out to be victims of the well-known ‘freight’. In this regard, the authorities emphasize that the criminals take advantage of the fact that the vehicles have their windows down when they arrive at these points.
Post trips on social networks
Finally, according to the authorities, making public that a person will be absent for several days has given rise to an increase in home theft.
According to the figures, Between January and June 2022, 2,649 cases of home theft were reported in Bogotá, being Engativá (310), Suba (354), Kennedy (278) and Usaquén (230) the most affected localities.
