I thought this would be of interest.
Rich
Venezuela has more
police per 100,000 inhabitants than countries such as France and Spain. Our
problem is not the number of police, but the quality of the police we have.
...
Venezuela has one of the highest murder rates in
the world and the world's highest death rate from guns, with 34 deaths in
every 100,000 caused by firearms, according to the United Nations. Officials
estimate there are some 6 million guns circulating among the 26 million
Venezuelan citizens.
However, the Chavez government has tightened gun laws. Once it was
easier to take out a gun licence than a driving licence, but now only police
officers can buy guns legally. In spite of this, there are a number of gun
shops nationwide and the evident levels of gun ownership would suggest that
the law is not being implemented effectively.
http://rtv.rtrlondon.co.uk/2006-11-25/a569d79.html
VENEZUELA
MOD-DATE: 11/25/06 00:36:14
BREAKING01-NOV25-VENEZUELA-CRIME
STORY: Before police stopped issuing crime statistics in 2003, on average
one person was murdered in Venezuela every hour.
The grim statistics have not improved in recent years and today
Venezuela holds one of the world's top spots for overwhelming crime. It's a
sad, but familiar story throughout Latin America, where poverty-stricken
countries, many emerging from brutal civil wars, are grappling with rampant
crime and weak police forces.
Venezuelan security experts estimate that in this country of
26-million, at least 60-thousand have died because of crime in the past six
years. Although the capital city Caracas is the hub for many of the problems,
is not confined to just the city, but occurs nationwide and affects people
from all social strata.
Nevertheless, the poor living in the shantytowns bear the brunt of the
effects of crime. This is in part due to the poverty which makes crime a more
attractive option, but also due to lack of adequate policing, according to
residents. In some areas, the police are too frightened to enter and in other
cases, they are easily corrupted, partly because criminal activity is more
profitable than their day jobs and partly because the criminals are the family
and friends of the police.
This level of lawlessness brings misery to this area. Yaneth Chavez,
is just one of many family members that gets left behind to pick up the pieces
after a murder.
"(Talking of the murder) How, how, how, how? Justify the death.
You do not have children. Sons of bitches," she screamed.
The Venezuelan government admits that crime levels have increased over
the last 30 years, but are keen to point out that the murder rate in
particular is now growing more slowly. The Interior Minister, Jesse Chacon,
made a statement to the media in November this year showing a graph for murder
rates in Venezuela, which showed that since 2001 to date - that is, during the
Chavez administration - the increase in the rate of murders per 100,000
inhabitants had grown much more slowly than in the previous two decades.
The Minister also outlined plans for improving the country's police
force.
"Putting 120,000 extra police on the streets of Caracas, like
people (the opposition) suggest is a proposal made by people who do not know
what they are talking about. The analysis that we have done demonstrates that
according to the figures of the human rights organizations, Venezuela has more
police per 100,000 inhabitants than countries such as France and Spain. Our
problem is not the number of police, but the quality of the police we have.
Today's proposal is for the police (that we have). After analyzing the
situation, we are going to launch a new academy, a new model for the police
education system that doesn't only educate the police at the point of entry
(when they join the force) but that educates police so that they grow
permanently inside the organization (they have continuous professional
development). (The education) will not only be dedicated to train, but also
to research so that the police training develops to response to what is
happening in society," he told the media.
Despite pledging to address the security problem and showing some
statistics that present the government's record on crime in a more positive
light compared with past regimes, other statistics, which add context to those
figures tell a sadder story. Venezuela has one of the highest murder rates in
the world and the world's highest death rate from guns, with 34 deaths in
every 100,000 caused by firearms, according to the United Nations. Officials
estimate there are some 6 million guns circulating among the 26 million
Venezuelan citizens.
However, the Chavez government has tightened gun laws. Once it was
easier to take out a gun licence than a driving licence, but now only police
officers can buy guns legally. In spite of this, there are a number of gun
shops nationwide and the evident levels of gun ownership would suggest that
the law is not being implemented effectively.
With the December 3 presidential election rapidly approaching, crime
has become a hot issue in the presidential campaign. Critics say he has
become more authoritarian and not tackled basic issues including crime and
corruption. Although Chavez is likely to win the election, the opposition is
honing in on crime as a potential Achilles heel.
Marcos Tarre Briceno who is a crime analyst and heads up an anti-gun
NGO, "Secure Venezuela", told Reuters that the systems in place to
deal with crime are rotten at the core.
"(We now see) a deterioration of the basic systems that support
security such as the police system, the judicial system and the penal system.
We have a tremendous police crisis, some levels of impunity that have not been
known before. All of this has meant that crime has increased in an alarming
manner and nowadays we are in this sorry state in terms of insecurity,"
he explained.
Residents of Caracas confirm this sentiment, and many people scared to
be out on the streets after dark.
"Not even I feel safe and insecurity has already reached such an
extreme that at 6 in the evening you have to be at home and many things can
happen, you could be affected at home, too," said Caracas resident
Daniela Fuentes.
Indeed those living in the capital were so concerned about rising
levels of security that they staged a huge protest earlier this year in which
they shut off one of the main avenues in Caracas and drew chalk lines on the
street and laid down to emulate the increasing number of dead bodies found in
Venezuela.
This protest was not a political stunt. Both pro and anti-Chavez
contingents were present. Arturo Rodriguez, a Chavez supporter pleaded for
his president to do something to ameliorate the situation.
"Our president. You have promised us security. What's going on
Mr. President? Where are you? Help us! This is your country, these are your
people. We are Bolivarian like you have said to us," he said.
Although the Chavez government is currently working on police reform,
the main opposition candidate, Manuel Rosales thinks this is too little, too
late and seeks to exploit the government's weak record on crime to date.
Rosales has promised a crime crackdown if he wins.
He has suggested policies such as a gun amnesty in which he will offer
a reward, giving each person who turns in a gun a $2,300 government bond. He
is also looking to modernize the police force by offering university type
training to officers and swelling their numbers by 150,000. Rosales has also
said he would sign a security agreement with Colombia to reduce drug-related
crime on Venezuela's lawless western borders.
________________________________________________________________________
Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security
tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free
AOL Mail and more.
_______________________________________________
To post, send message to Firearmsregprof@lists.ucla.edu
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see
http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/firearmsregprof
Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private.
Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are posted; people can
read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the
messages to others.
