Report states as much as 80 percent of crimes not reported in Ecuador

eltelegrafo.com.ec reported thefts, psychological violence, sexual abuse, physical violence and drug trafficking are the five most reported crimes in the province of Guayas. These figures are derived from the State Attorney General’s Office. However,numerous crimes are not reported to authorities. A study found that 80% of crimes in Ecuador go unreported. Other countries also have an issue with not reporting crimes. 94% of crimes are not reported in Mexico. In Canada, the figure is 69%. And in the US, nearly half of all crimes are not reported to authorities. The study said 31% of people don’t report crimes because they think it’s a waste of time. Patricia Morejón, the provincial prosecutor of Guayas, admitted that people do not totally trust the justice departments, but improvements have been made in recent years.

The theft of vehicle accessories is among the most reported crimes in Ecuador. According to information from the National Police. Ramiro Mantilla, inspector of the National Police, stressed that as an institution they urge that crimes be reported and that in order to facilitate complaints they have implemented systems at the Community Police Units (UPC) and then send them to the Public Prosecutor’s Office. “They only need to go with the identity card and describe the circumstances of the event: how, when and where it happened. In case you have stolen documents the same will be taken the statement “. He added that the crime of greatest incidence in the country is the robbery of persons committed by criminals operating in specific sectors. So, to avoid impunity in the UPC have albums with the photos of these individuals, so that people can recognize them and file a complaint with first and last name. The official said that the least reported crimes are thefts of cell phones, car accessories and also thefts.

 

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This affects the National Police and the justice system because there is no real figure, but a black number of crimes. Mantilla explained that the complaints are important to propose strategies, georeferencing the illegal acts and knowing the real dimension. However, he said that work is coordinated with the Integrated Citizen Security Service to know the ‘hot spots’ through the calls they receive with news of criminal events. “It is important in the future to conduct a victimization survey to be sure how many people have been harmed and how many do not report.” Marcelo Tobar, commander of Police Zone 8, which includes the cantons of Guayaquil, Durán and Samborondón, said that citizens who are victims of crime are compelled to denounce and even accompany them with the vehicle. “Sometimes people have threats and do not do it out of fear. A person is put in a safe place when he denounces, because he can leave in writing that he blames this or that person if something happens to him. ” He emphasized that the logic with which we must act is that if we denounce, we make it possible for the offender to stop hurting more people. César Navas, interior minister, said earlier this month that in Ecuador the main crimes, such as robbery of people, homes, economic units, motorcycles, cars and parts of cars have been reduced. “The information comes from complaints made by citizens.” Read Article