UN global study on homicides

[Bacchus39]

http://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/Homicide/Globa_study_on_homicide_2011_web.pdf

1st number is total homicides, second is rate.

South America
Argentina 2,215 5.5 2009 Ministry of Justice
Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 884 8.9 2010 National police
Brazil 43,909 22.7 2009 Ministry of Justice
Chile 630 3.7 2009 UN-CTS
Colombia 15,459 33.4 2010 National police
Ecuador 2,638 18.2 2010 National police
French Guiana 32 14.6 2008 National police
94
Guyana 139 18.4 2010 NSO
Paraguay 741 11.5 2010 OAS
Peru 1,490 5.2 2009 SES
Suriname 69 13.7 2006 UN-CTS
Uruguay 205 6.1 2010 Ministry of Interior
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 13,985 49.0 2009 NGO

Homicide trends and drug trafficking in
South America

In Central America and the Caribbean, changes in
drug trafficking markets have, in one way or
another, contributed to rising levels of homicide.
Looking at the countries immediately to the south
of Central America, Colombia provides an example
of a country that has succeeded in reversing
escalating levels of lethal violence through strict
law enforcement measures, reducing both drug
trafficking and the homicide rate.

Most of the cocaine trafficked to the United States
through Central America and the Caribbean originates
in Colombia, with smaller amounts also
originating in Peru.25 It is notable that drug seizures
in Colombia itself have progressively
increased over the past decade, reflecting the
increased efforts of the Colombian authorities to
confront all organized criminal groups involved in
drug production and trafficking. Over the same
period, while some cities have seen large increases
in homicides, overall Colombia has seen a decline
in its homicide rate of more than a half, from over
70 per 100,000 at the beginning of the decade to
33 in 2010 (see box in chapter 6).

On the other hand, the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela has experienced the opposite, with significant
declines in cocaine seizures while the
homicide rate increased steadily to 49 per 100,000
population. Whilst the activities of drug trafficking
organizations certainly play a significant role in
Venezuela, the increase in homicide in this case
may also be linked to other factors including general
conventional crimes. Ecuador also saw a steady
increase in its homicide rate up to over 21 in 2008,
as the country became an alternative route for
drug trafficking to North America and has recently
reported increasing seizures of cocaine. The
Plurinational State of Bolivia and Peru have homicide
rates well below those three countries, albeit
with some fluctuations, and seizures of cocaine
were relatively high in both countries and increased
further in 2009-201026 (see Bolivia box page 55).
In spite of the large variations between homicide
patterns and trends throughout the Americas it is
clear that the changing patterns of drug trafficking,
inter-gang competition and violence, as well
as the on-going battle with law enforcement agencies,
have driven an increase in lethal violence to
alarmingly high levels. When the rule of law is
severely challenged by organized crime, it is difficult
for weakened States to re-establish the monopoly
of law enforcement. The example of Colombia
shows that it can take many years to reverse a progressively
rising homicide rate and re-establish
basic security long after political conflicts have
ended. Violence begets violence and in so doing it
can redraw the boundaries of acceptability and
tolerance towards it within a given society, not
least because lethal violence may be employed by
criminal groups for a variety of specific objectives,
such as settling disputes, asserting control and
status, sending a message of intent to other criminal
groups and challenging the authorities. Its
overspill can have long-lasting, knock-on effects
on society as a whole.