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Colombia CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Colombia had the
third
highest rate of homicides in the world. Nearly three
decades later,
Colombia still was counted among the world's top countries
in terms
of the ratio of the number of murders to the size of the
population. According to the 1985 national census, murder
was the
fourth most common cause of death in the country. In 1984
murders,
kidnappings, and street crimes reportedly were so common
that the
elite considered private bodyguards and armored cars a
necessity.
In 1987 an estimated 16,000 Colombians were murdered. In
1988 the
continuing deterioration in the internal security
situation
suggested that the trend toward an increased incidence of
violent
crime was unlikely to be reversed in the short term.
Data as of December 1988
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