The Bogota Chamber of Commerce (CCB) presented the results of the most recent Bogota Perception and Victimization Survey (EPV) for the year 2021. This tool has been applied in Bogota since 1998.

More than 6,500 households from the 19 urban localities of Bogota, corresponding to the six socioeconomic strata, participated in the measurement, which took place between September 24 and October 27, 2021, making it one of the most robust surveys in the country. This is the second annual version of the survey and the information was collected by telephone.

Among the main results, there was an increase of 5 percentage points in the number of citizens who were victims of a crime, from 15% in 2019 to 20% in 2021. There was an increase in the rating between bad and very bad in calls to 123, which went from 36% in 2019 to 43% in 2021. Also, the rating of excellent and good police service decreased from 32% in 2019 to 30% in 2021.

Victimization in Bogota

For the second consecutive year, the percentage of citizens who were victims of crime in the city increased from 15% in 2019, 17% in 2020 and 20% in 2021.

Robbery is the most used modality in theft from persons (27%) and the cell phone is the most stolen device with 78%. The most common element used by assailants was the knife (40%). The use of firearms to commit this crime increased from 17% in 2020 to 23% in 2021.

The reporting indicator stood at 49% in 2021 and is the highest in recent years. The city is close to reversing the trend of citizens who do not report the crimes of which they were victims over those who do.

Institutionality of Security and Coexistence

2021 registered an increase in the percentage of citizens who reported having called the 123 emergency line from 19% in 2019 to 22% in 2021.

Two out of 10 citizens know which quadrant their household belongs to. In the last 3 years, the percentage of citizens interacting with the quadrant police officer has increased from 30% in 2019 to 33% in 2021. Also noteworthy is the increase in the percentage of citizens who know the cellular number of the quadrant 44% in 2019 to 58% in 2021.

There were reductions in the good rating of the police service, by citizens in general and by those who went to this institution. 3 out of 10 citizens who went to the police in 2021, rated very well or well the service provided.

Factors affecting the perception of security in Bogota

The percentage of citizens who consider Transmilenio to be unsafe and very unsafe decreased from 78% in 2020 to 71% in 2021. This perception is mainly based on the concern derived from the presence of thefts in the system (mugging, pickpocketing, snatch-and-grab).

Pedestrian bridges 23% and streets 22% are the places in the public space that are perceived as the most insecure in 2021. The percentage of citizens who witnessed a crime without being a victim increased to 46% in 2021, and increased 16 percentage points compared to 2019 when it stood at 30%.

Theft from persons is the crime of most concern 38%, but the increases in concern for crimes such as: vandalism 5% in 2020 to 9% in 2021 and sale of drugs 4% in 2020 to 7% in 2021 are striking.

Security Perception in Bogota

Bogota experiences the highest perception of insecurity in recent years, standing at 88%. In 2019, 44% of citizens considered their neighborhood safe; by 2021, 30% consider it safe.

Enfoque de género

• Seventeen percent of the women surveyed were victims of theft from persons, while for men this figure was 22% in 2021.

• Regarding the perception of increased insecurity, 89% of women said they noticed an increase in insecurity, while for men it was 87% in 2021.

• The perception that the neighborhood is safe by women is 29%, while for men it is 32% in 2021.

Recommendations from the Bogota Chamber of Commerce

• Citizen service and institutionalism: 1. Citizens must see the union and cooperative work between the Mayor's Office and the Metropolitan Police. 2. The Secretariat of Security, Coexistence and Justice must implement an improvement plan in the citizen attention of the 123 line that improves the percentage of citizens who rate positively the attention in the call (47% in 2018, 39% in 2019, 37% in 2020 and 36% in 2021). 3. Training to in-service police and new recruits, should focus on the citizen care model. According to the assessment of police officers' skills, non-verbal communication and understanding of the citizen's need are the main need for improvement.

• Gender focus: Continue to prioritize the work on security for women by the Secretariat for Women and the Secretariat for Security, Coexistence and Justice. Targeted actions in the neighborhoods should be based on coherent work agendas from the Local Security Councils and Local Women's Councils.

• Differential work in the territory: Recovering the perception of security in the neighborhood should be a city objective. The Secretariat of Security, Coexistence and Justice should be the leading entity in the territorial agenda in terms of security and coexistence, and the stipulations of the Comprehensive Plan for Security, Coexistence and Justice (PISCJ) should permeate local actions through the Local Government and Security Councils. The effort in citizen participation in the Citizen Fronts and networks must be compensated with results in crime control and prevention in the short term.

• Reducing victimization in the short term: The economic and social reactivation of the city requires increased efforts to target and intervene in crime hotspots. This requires the Metropolitan Police and the Secretariat of Security, Coexistence and Justice as articulators of crime control and the presence of the institutional offer of the entire district aimed at improving the quality of life.

• More and better information flow for the media: A way of approaching crime in the media that is oriented towards the strict follow-up of cases and highlighting operational achievements in the city should be agreed upon, with a view to counteracting the effect that social networks can have on the formation of citizens' opinions regarding security.

About the survey

• The Perception and Victimization Survey (EPV) of the Bogota Chamber of Commerce is a complementary tool to the official records of citizen security and seeks to establish subjective factors in the matter. The CCB has been conducting the EPV since 1998 and its application was biannual with face-to-face collection. This is one of the most robust surveys conducted in the country due to its sample size.

• Throughout the history of the EPV, the tool has evolved and methodological adjustments have been introduced. Thus, in 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2015, sample redesigns were carried out.

• This same adjustment was made in 2020, with a methodological change based on a sample redesign, to adapt the tool to an annualized exercise and with a telephone collection (a decision that was also made in light of the contingency due to Covid-19 and the mandatory isolation in which the city was).