Crime in Venezuela

Crime in Venezuela is widespread, with violent crimes such as murder and kidnapping often increasing annually. The United Nations has attributed crime to the poor political and economic environment in the country, which has the second highest murder rate in the world. Crime increased rapidly during the presidency of Hugo Chávez due to the institutional instability of his Bolivarian government. By the time Chávez died in 2013, Venezuela was ranked the most insecure nation in the world by Gallup. Crime has also continued to increase under Chávez's successor, President Nicolás Maduro, who continued Chávez's policies that had disrupted Venezuela's socioeconomic status. By 2015, crime, which was often the topic Venezuelans worried about the most according to polls, was the second largest concern compared to shortages in Venezuela. Crimes related to shortages and hunger increased shortly after, with growing incidents of looting occurring throughout the country. The majority of all crime in Venezuela remains unpunished according to Venezuela's Prosecutor General’s Office, with 98% of crimes in Venezuela not resulting in prosecution.

Crime rates are higher in 'barrios' or 'ranchos' (slum areas) and after dark. Petty crime such as pick-pocketing is prevalent, particularly in public transport terminals in Caracas. 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. 2014 Gallup polls showed that only 19% of Venezuelans felt safe walking alone at night, with nearly one quarter of the respondents stating that they or a household member had money stolen from them in the past year.

While Venezuelans were suffering from shortages in Venezuela, the occasional looting of trucks full of goods became more common in the country with the robberies being committed by criminal gangs. Originally, looters would wait for trucks to crash and loot the scene, though recently trucks have been attacked instead. In one incident involving a crashed truck, hundreds of men, women and children looted the vehicle. In July 2015, BBC News stated that due to the common shortages in Venezuela, every week there are videos shared online showing Venezuelans looting supermarkets and trucks for food. In June 2016, it was reported that the town of Cumaná was under effective curfew after an outbreak of mass looting.

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Wikipedia