Truth About Crime

Lets get the facts out of the way so there is no confusion.  With crime and drug cartels, Medellin did play a big part in all of this. Per Wikitravel, Medellin was considered one of the most dangerous cities in the world for it’s size and highly disproportional homicide and kidnap rates. It was the home of Pablo Escobar and the so-called “Medellin Cartel” who took over the city at that time. Since his demise in the 1990s, the cartel was disbanded and the city changed tremendously. The city went from 6500 murders in 1990 to 2900 in 2009 to 184 in 2002 to 38 in 2013. (Wikitravel). The US did issue a travel warning in 2014 for narcotic trafficking. The paisas(locals) are proud of the cities improvements overtime, but there is still lots that needs to change.

When you look at the homicides going down significantly, this tells you that something is going right. The crime initiatives, the community efforts, the Mental health or jail systems-a city came together for increased safety in their home.  When you compare these homicides to the US, the results are an eye opener for the US Customs who label Medellin and cities of Colombia “dangerous.”

In New York in 2013, there were 333 homicides in comparison to Medellin at 38. In Los Angeles, there were 250 homicides in 2013. In Chicago, there were almost 2400 shooting = more homicides than New York City and Los Angeles (Huffington Post).

When it comes to a city like Medellin, there will probably be many people who don’t visit it because it’s history and current crime.  People needs to realize that their own major cities also have this terrible crime. Chicago is one of the most Gang infested cities with shootings on the news every other day.

When you see that a city used to have terrible crime, but it has significantly improved-it’s time to reevaluate.  If you are coming from New York or Chicago, it’s not much different when it comes to crime. The population is almost 4 million, which is not the same size as Chicago and New York City, but it’s in double digits-38. 

Doesn’t anyone get curious about this improvement and think maybe this city is now doing something good? Perhaps the leadership is different, perhaps the security has become better, perhaps tourism is on the rise, perhaps they care for the Paisas(locals) and want better safety. 

If you ever saw the nice area of this city, you would forget any crime exists. If you crossed over town, you may see a bit more action and real life.  Regardless, this city deserves a pat on the back for their developments within their communities. They should be Proud Paisas and love their people and city without getting discouraged by people labeling or stereotyping what they are.  The locals of Colombia and South America know it’s beautiful.  Do the Americans and Europeans also know this?