Impunity, poverty blamed for Venezuela's soaring murder rate

[Bacchus4.0]

http://www.english.rfi.fr/node/151215



19/06/2013 - International report


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The victim is then punched and zapped with a taser. The brutality is telling of the police’s lack of training and one reason for the lack of respect people in Venezuela have for the authorities.

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Briceño-León says that the criminal rate “took off completely” when Chávez came to power. “Then there is a continuous increase,” he adds.

Impunity is a major issue. “In 1998, for each 100 homicides, we had 118 detentions,” says Briceño-León. “In 2008, for each 100 homicides, we had nine detentions.”

There is little respect for the law in Venezuela. Police officers are undertrained, understaffed and underequipped.