RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – According to the results of the Global Law and Order 2021 study, developed by Gallup, which measures the perception of insecurity, Colombia is one of the countries in the world where its citizens have the least confidence in the police, a trend that was also very marked in Latin America.
On average, only 49% of Latin Americans surveyed said they trust the police force in the place where they live, a figure that is well below the world standard (71%); however, this represents a two-point increase compared to the 2019 poll.
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Among the countries of the continent, Venezuela obtained the lowest ratings with only 25% confidence, followed by Bolivia (35%), Mexico (38%), Peru (43%) and Chile (52%). Meanwhile, although Colombia appears with 55 % -two points more in 2019-, it is still below international averages. During the marches for this year’s National Strike there were several complaints from citizens about police abuse.
With 75% confidence in the police, Uruguay was the nation with the outstanding result, although El Salvador and Costa Rica also appear with a favorable image of 69%. Jamaica had one of the most significant improvements, going from 51 % in 2019 to 62 % last year.
On the other hand, the study also reviewed how safe people feel walking alone on the streets at night. Here Venezuela and Gabon presented the lowest results with 31 %; however, in the case of the Latin American country, it is its highest value since 2012. “The countries where residents are least likely to say they feel safe walking alone at night are exclusively a mix of Latin American and Caribbean countries and Sub-Saharan Africa,” the research noted.
Another of the points highlighted by the Gallup firm is that feeling safe walking at night is related to “economically developed countries and territories with a strong rule of law. […] The same is true in countries where populations are in a tighter state of control. Such sentiments were almost universally evidenced in countries such as the United Arab Emirates (95%), Norway (93%), China (91%) and Slovenia (91%).
By way of conclusion, the study pointed out that there have been no major variations in the population’s perceptions, so it is important that they continue to improve in the coming years. “There is still a lot of room for growth. While most people around the world feel safe, almost a third, which translates into hundreds of millions of people worldwide, do not feel safe walking alone at night where they live,” he concluded.
After a few weeks without disturbances in the vicinity of TransMilenio’s Américas portal with Avenida Ciudad de Cali, demonstrations on the night of November 21 led to clashes between the Mobile Anti-Riot Squad (Esmad) and hooded persons that caused the closure of this place as well as the Patio Bonito, Biblioteca Tintal and Transversal 86 stations.
Citizen reports via Twitter informed that the confrontations between hooded persons and public forces originated after 8:30 p.m. Some complained to the authorities about the extended social protest in this sector of the capital, which has been going on for seven months and arose during the social demonstrations of the previous national strike.