Un índice de criminalidad para Colombia

Abstract

This paper attempts to establish a criminality index for Colombia integrating the major offenses in the country from 1994 to 2007. Though homicide is widely recognized and has been the most serious and homogeneous crime through time, there are other manifestations of violence and criminality that affect society profoundly. Hence, it is relevant to include such manifestations in the very same index in order to have a full spectrum of the behavior shown by security problems.

After a revision of the instruments used in Colombia and worldwide to measure up criminality year after year, it is evident that there is no indicator for such a goal. Hence, the document presents three different - but closely related - methodological approaches to understand the development of criminality in the country based not only on homicide but on the pondered combination of various offenses.

Using the punishment indicated for each offense in the Colombian Penal Code as a median measurer results in an interesting innovation as presented in this paper.

This activity evidences some limitations concerning the source of information and the lack of a regional analysis. However, this analysis attempts to raise an interest in more and better approaches to the topic, thus strengthening the analysis of criminality data in Colombia and, therefore, designing public policies to face such an issue.