THE PROJECT The bill that Mayor Claudia López wishes to file in Congress so that Bogotá has a Local Police is timeless, anachronistic, and not very feasible, according to Néstor Rosanía, a consultant on security and defense, hemispheric security, insurgency, terrorism, negotiation, and armed conflict issues. .
In the same way, he considers that the initiative is more of the same; In other words, it proposes the deployment of a certain number of police officers on the streets, when the city requires other tools to complement the work of the uniformed officers, such as the installation of cameras with facial recognition, reforms to the judicial system, and a large investment in security.
THE NEW CENTURY: Mayor Claudia López announced the filing of a project in Congress to have a local police force in Bogotá. Do you think it is feasible?
NESTOR ROSANIA: The first thing is that it is a project that he presents at the end of his administration, so it is an anachronistic proposal. These types of strategies are proposed at the beginning of a management and not missing six months to finish it. While the bureaucratic part passes, before his execution, a new administration would arrive with its own security policies. This seems more like a message to generate media impact.
The second thing is that the issue of security through uniformed numbers on the street is still seen as an error. There is no science and technology component that is important, which is what the big cities use. While London is full of cameras, Bogotá continues to think that, because it’s not that big, more policemen should be brought in to go around the neighborhoods.
ENS: If, as you say, these projects are unfeasible for the city, what do you think Bogotá needs to reduce the insecurity rate?
NR: In general terms, it is a city that does not have a significant investment for the installation of cameras with facial recognition, drones, software and major technology. That requires financial muscle and a lot of infrastructure. The version that they tried to sell us in the Claudia López administration was to put cameras that become prosecution strategies, since they do not serve to prevent crime. The big cities of the world use facial recognition cameras to prevent crime. What Bogotá has are cameras monitored from a command center.
ENS: In addition to cameras with advanced technology for crime prevention, what other strategies or tools are required to attack crime?
NR: It would need a reform to justice, because criminals are captured who end up on the street after a while. A reform is required in penitentiary terms.
The shortcomings
ENS: Given the shortcomings in the security system, which are well known to the authorities, why haven’t effective strategies yet been proposed to attack the problem?
NR: The first thing is that a State policy is needed and not a Government policy. A government arrives and presents projects, many of which remain in the council due to the bureaucratic and patronage issues that have always been handled in the city. The second factor is the lack of budget, even when the security issue is where more resources are invested, but it falls short to cover the needs of a city.
I believe that there is no culture of security, since everything is endorsed to the Police or Secretary of Security, but when one analyzes the situation it is much more complex, since the judicial system, penitentiary and other actors are included.
ENS: Has the security index in Bogotá skyrocketed compared to other cities in Colombia in recent years?
NR: Bogotá had had a historical low and now it had a considerable rise. Also, it may be that the insecurity indicators drop, but situations such as the dismembered and beheaded reported in the city show that, in the same way, it is not a safe city.
ENS: What are the recommendations that, from your point of view, ordinary citizens should follow in order not to be the target of crime?
NR: The first thing is that people are articulated with their quadrants. It is also necessary to create self-protection habits, especially when you go out late at night. Finally, it is the complaint. If it is not denounced, it does not generate an impact on the indicators; therefore, the administrations will continue to say that we are doing well in terms of security when in reality we are doing very badly.