Security perception within neighborhoods improved: 43.6% of people in Bogotá stated that their neighborhood is safe, compared to 31.8% in 2024, representing a positive step forward.

The number of people who believe that general insecurity increased in Bogotá dropped from 69.3% in 2024 to 66% in 2025.

Bogotá, February 17, 2026.

The Bogotá Chamber of Commerce (CCB) today presented the results of the 27th edition of the 2025 Perception and Victimization Survey (EPV), the primary technical benchmark providing citizens and businesses in Bogotá with detailed data on the objective situation regarding security and coexistence. The survey was conducted among 20,038 people across Bogotá's 20 localities, including Sumapaz for the first time.

The results show a slight improvement in the general perception of how safe or unsafe people feel. Improvements were also noted in victimization rates. However, cybercrimes are gaining momentum and represent a growing challenge for institutions.

In 2025, the percentage of people who believe insecurity increased in the city stood at 66%, a reduction from the 69.3% recorded in 2024. Similarly, the rate of individuals who were victims of at least one crime decreased from 15.3% to 14.9%.

Personal theft remains the most recurring crime, accounting for 74.7% of reported cases. As is common when victimization falls, crime reporting also saw a reduction; in 2025, 45.6% of victims reported the incident to an authority, compared to 52.0% the previous year.

Cybercrimes

Cybercrimes recorded a significant increase. 19.5% of people reported being affected, representing an increase of 10.3 percentage points compared to 2024 (9.1%). This figure even surpassed the previous record high of 16.1% in 2020. The most frequent method was the reception of fraudulent text messages (43.7%).

Extortion

Extortion showed a reduction after two consecutive years of increases, dropping from 7.3% in 2024 to 4.6% in 2025. However, it is concerning that 29.5% of victims reported complying with the demanded payment, while 54.4% chose not to respond or continue communication. For the first time, the CCB measured whether victims were businesses, finding that 31.7% of victims were associated with a business.

Coexistence and Street Harassment

The proportion of people facing coexistence issues decreased from 28.2% to 23.9%. The most common conflicts involve noise, improper waste disposal, and disrespectful behavior.

In contrast, catcalling and street harassment increased significantly, rising from 13.4% to 19.3%. Notably, 73.8% of the victims of these behaviors are women, highlighting a disproportionate gender-based impact.

Factors Influencing Perception

The percentage of people who witnessed a crime without being a victim increased slightly from 43.0% to 44.3%, a factor that directly impacts the perception of insecurity.

On the other hand, security perception in neighborhoods improved: 43.6% of people consider the area where they live to be safe, up from 31.8% the previous year. Men report a higher sense of security (47.1%) than women (40.4%).

Security in the TransMilenio System

Perception of insecurity in TransMilenio showed improvement. The percentage of people who consider the system unsafe decreased from 70.6% in 2024 to 62.7% in 2025.

The greatest challenges remain concentrated in pedestrian tunnels at portals or stations, SITP bus stops on public roads, and pedestrian access bridges. In contrast, the best-evaluated services were TransMiCable, SITP buses, and the DUAL service.

These results reflect progress in key indicators but also underscore the need to strengthen prevention strategies, institutional trust, and digital security, as well as differential actions to improve the safety of women in public spaces.

How Citizens Form Their Knowledge of Security

The main sources of information regarding security are social media, according to 61.4% of respondents. This medium grew by 15.7 points from 45.7% in 2024, moving from second to first place in terms of relevance. News broadcasts, previously the primary source, moved to second place at 56.4% (down from 62.3% in 2024). Word-of-mouth and personal experiences also declined in relevance, consistent with the drop in victimization reported. The survey noted that 51.9% of people claimed to frequently see violent content on social media, another element influencing public perception.