The Christmas/NY holiday period is one of the major crime spikes of the year. Mayor Galán is a man with a plan (and 300 coppers) – but will it work?
It’s December in Bogotá and that means two things – Christmas lights around the city and increased crime. While many are already on holiday, criminals are certainly not, so it pays to be extra cautious over the coming weeks.
This year, the local police are implementing something they call Plan Centro in response to the threat of higher crime. In mid November a citizen was killed in the San Victorino market area, prompting a heavy response from authorities.
That comes in the shape of over three hundred more police on the streets to provide a visible deterrence to would-be criminals. Of course, they have to do their jobs, which is far from guaranteed. It’s an all too common sight in Bogotá to see coppers just lounging about.
Bogotá city centre is packed with shoppers most of the time and of course at Christmas that goes turbocharged. Unlike malls, these are fully public streets, so harder to keep secure. Robbers operate throughout the zone, often with impunity.
The new mayor, Juan Carlos Galán, has made the renovation of the city centre a key part of his mandate, with Plan Centro also referring to his revitalisation plans that encompass a range of measures, from training to investment.
That’s been a sticking point, however, with the rebirth of Bogotá city centre always a case of ‘jam tomorrow’. For a good two decades people have been trying to reboot it and got largely nowhere. Every mayor has had a plan centro, and every one has failed.
Crime, too, has been a key part of rolos’ concerns for a long time. Galán addressed that in his campaign for the mayoral office, but hasn’t yet managed to move the needle on perception of crime.
Official stats do show crime is down, but to say these are widely viewed with suspicion is to understate it. Few in Bogotá believe that the stats are true – with the assumption being that they’re either juked or a consequence of lower reporting rates.
Why is the holiday season a high point for crime?
It’s no surprise really – many people receive a mandatory bonus payment (known as prima navideña) in December, meaning they are flush. It is usually paid a week or so before Christmas Day and for many, that money goes immediately on presents and the like.
Criminals also have to pay for the costs of Christmas, of course, so they’re in need of money themselves. Desperation kicks in for some, sheer greed for many others.
The conditions are near-perfect too. Shopping areas are heavily crowded, providing an environment where pickpockets can act with ease. People are making lots of calls and checks, so phone snatching is low-hanging fruit.
So too for bars, with heavily drunk people in large and often less familiar groups ripe to be distracted. That’s ideal for pickpockets, swipe thieves and of course druggers.
Violent robbers, meanwhile, rejoice at the sights of deserted streets everywhere else as schools, universities and offices close down and footfall plummets. With few witnesses, muggings are easier to pull off.
Many will be leaving the city, meaning unprotected houses for break-ins. All those people travelling creates traffic jams, which attract motorbike-based robbers who either swipe through open windows or in more extreme cases stick a gun through the window.
Stay safe in the holidays
While the idea of no dar papaya is at best problematic, it does pay to take precautions and minimise risk, especially at this time of year.
Avoid particularly crowded shopping zones if at all possible. If that’s not an option, consider putting your wallet and/or cards deep within a front pocket or bag carried in front of you.
When walking, try to keep your phone in your pocket or bag. Snatch robberies are common, either by a fast runner or by passing motos. For the last one, it makes sense to stay away from the edge of the pavement and stick to the centre.
In the late evening/early night, stick to main roads with plenty of passing traffic if you can. It may feel ridiculous to take taxis for very short journeys (even four or five calles), but they won’t turn you down and it’s not a crazy thing to do.