Cali saw a spectacular drop in homicides in the first half of 2014, the local ombudsman confirmed Tuesday. The drop is the first in six years.
A lower, but continuously significant amount of people, 961, have been murdered in Cali from January to end of August in 2014 a reduction of almost 30% compared to the same period last year, the ombudsman said it its annual human rights report.
If Cali is able to maintain this reduction in violence, its annual homicide rate will end at approximately 60 homicides for every 100,000 inhabitants. In 2013, this was 86.
Despite the decrease in violent deaths the local ombudsman nevertheless expressed concern about the high number of deaths.
“We’ve stressed and constantly reiterated the serious situation of violence in the city, it is necessary to disarm the society in Cali, because 87% of homicides are committed with firearms. Cali requires a plan of disarmament as one of the measures to reduce crime,” local ombudsman Andres Santamaria Garrido said.
Garrido emphasized that establishing a program to offer the youth alternatives to gangs is important, since more than a quarter of the murders were committed by person below 18.
Minors represented 13% of this year’s homicide victims.
Sources
- Personería Municipal presenta panorama de los Derechos Humanos en Cali (Ombudsmans office)
