HomeNewsBriefBogota Homicides Reach 27-Year Low after Gun Ban
BRIEF

Bogota Homicides Reach 27-Year Low after Gun Ban

COLOMBIA / 12 SEP 2012 BY VICTORIA ROSSI EN

The murder rate in Colombian capital Bogota has fallen to its lowest point in 27 years, following a citywide ban on carrying guns in public.

Homicides in the Colombian capital have dropped by 21 percent this year, with 817 murders between January and August, compared to 1,021 murders in the same period in 2011. That equates to a murder rate of 16.1 per 100,000 people for 2012, making Bogota less violent than Chicago, whose rate is 19 per 100,000.

According to BBC Mundo, Bogota’s murder rate stood at 22 per 100,000 people before Mayor Gustavo Petro's administration implemented a three-month ban on guns in public places in February 2012. The ban has since been extended twice, most recently in August, for another three months. Petro stated that the gun restriction had reduced the number of deaths caused by firearms by 58 percent.

In an interview with the BBC before the gun ban went into effect, Petro’s chief of staff estimated that about 60 percent of Bogota murders involved firearms.

InSight Crime Analysis

Most Latin American countries far exceed the global average for the proportion of murders committed with firearms, according to an August report by the Small Arms Survey. The survey found that firearms were involved in 60 percent of murders throughout the region, compared to a global average of 42 percent, with El Salvador, Honduras and Venezuela among the worst afflicted.

If Bogota's gun restriction policy is indeed causing the capital's dramatic fall in homicides, it could provide a model for other cities attempting to curb their murder rates.

However, a gun ban on its own does not necessarily lead a drop in violence, as evidenced by Medellin. Colombia's second largest city imposed a year-long ban on guns in January, yet has seen violence rage in certain areas as rival gangs battle for control over key neighborhoods. The dynamics of a city's criminal underworld, and whether or not it is a crucial point in the drug trade, also play a vital role in determining violence levels.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

AUC / 15 SEP 2021

Dozens of properties and other assets seized from Memo Fantasma, one of Colombia’s foremost drug traffickers, will be used to…

ARGENTINA / 10 SEP 2021

Violence is rocking Argentina’s port city of Rosario just as the leaders of its biggest gang, the Monos, are on…

AUC / 23 MAY 2023

Salvatore Mancuso, a leader of Colombia's demobilized paramilitary group the AUC has offered insights into the group's crimes and influence.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

All Eyes on Ecuador

2 JUN 2023

Our coverage of organized crime in Ecuador continues to be a valuable resource for international and local news outlets. Internationally, Reuters cited our 2022 Homicide Round-Up,…

WORK WITH US

Open Position: Social Media and Engagement Strategist

27 MAY 2023

InSight Crime is looking for a Social Media and Engagement Strategist who will be focused on maintaining and improving InSight Crime’s reputation and interaction with its audiences through publishing activities…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.