The Colombian Police have announced a drop in kidnappings of 92% between 2000 and 2013.
This decrease was attributed to “modern interception equipment” as well as the creation of the Gaula groups, specialized in combating kidnapping and extortion, the creation of a special training school and an intelligence center for personal freedom, according to a police statement.
The number of kidnappings recorded in Colombia in 2013 was 299, a figure showing a reduction of 92% compared to 2000 when 3,572 people were held against their will, police said.
Due to this reduction, last week a delegation of Philippine police visited Colombia to see first hand the work that the Colombian agents had focused on to combat the kidnapping scourge. The policies developed were of special interest as was the implementation of campaigns to encourage citizen reporting.
The director of the Philippine group, General Alan Purisima, said that they had much to learn from the experience of Colombia’s fight against kidnapping and its recent success in reducing the proportion of people held against their will. He added that at this time the Asian country is “facing the criminal phenomenon of kidnapping and extortion.”
To reduce the Philippine’s increase in kidnappings and extortion the group has been sent to Colombia to learn from their experience and to apply it later in the Philippines.