(Public Domain Image, "Money.Venezuela," courtesy of Wikipedia Commons) [1]
Income Distribution
(Public Domain Image, "World Development Indicators," courtesy of Wikipedia) [2]
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The income distribution in Venezuela continues to play a strong factor in the number of crimes committed and therefore directly correlates to the number of individuals incarcerated. The poorer the people, the higher the crime rate, and crime has only increased with inflation rates that were at an all-time high of 141% as of September of 2015. [3] The government has attempted to keep prices down, but has not been able to boost the value of the Venezuelan Bolivar in order to help their citizens possess more purchasing power.
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Gang Violence
Gang violence contributes to high crime rates in Venezuela and helped the nation acquire the second highest murder rate in the world. [4] The crime rates in Venezuela spiked during the Presidency of Hugo Chavez which served as a catalyst to institutional instability, underfunding of police resources, and high inequality. [4] Since families were not able to protect or provide for themselves during his reign, some turned their loyalty to gangs in order to have access to a constant supply of food.
CC BY-SA 3.0 image, "Venezuela Shortages." courtesy of ZiaLater on Wikipedia.
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Some criminal gangs are using tactics called "hunger crimes" to recruit children and teens into their ranks. This involves baiting families with basic food items in exchange for their children or male family members acting as their new recruits. [5] In the past, baiting involved luxury goods such as weapons or high end metals, but now food is enough to turn people over.
Another interesting realization about gang violence in Venezuela is that, though gang activity is illegal, gangs were able to gain control of many prison institutions in the beginning of 2012 shortly after the El Rodeo Massacre. [6] This has made it more likely that prisoners will join organized crime rings in order to have a shorter sentence or gain access to basic necessities. Though actions have been taken to attempt to counteract the hold gangs have on penitentiaries in Venezuela, no size-able progress has been made recently. |
Sources
1. Holt, David. “Money.Venezuela.” Wikipedia Commons, Wikipedia, 27 Feb. 2011, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Money.Venezuela_(Photo_by_DAVID_HOLT,_2011).jpg.
2. “Economy of Venezuela.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Nov. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Venezuela.
3. “Venezuela: A Nation in a State.” The Economist, The Economist Newspaper, 18 Feb. 2016, www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2016/02/18/venezuela-a-nation-in-a-state.
4. “Venezuela Specific Country Information.” Travel.State.gov, U.S. Department of State, 20 Aug. 2013, web.archive.org/web/20140111012601/http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1059.html.
5. Delgado, Antonio Maria. “Venezuelan Criminals Have Begun Using Food to Recruit Children into Gangs.” Miamiherald.com, Miami Herald, 4 Jan. 2018, www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article193044269.html.
6. “Prisons in Venezuela.” Prison Insider, Dec. 2015, www.prison-insider.com/countryprofile/prisonsinvzla?s=le-systeme-penitentiaire#le-systeme-penitentiaire.
2. “Economy of Venezuela.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Nov. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Venezuela.
3. “Venezuela: A Nation in a State.” The Economist, The Economist Newspaper, 18 Feb. 2016, www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2016/02/18/venezuela-a-nation-in-a-state.
4. “Venezuela Specific Country Information.” Travel.State.gov, U.S. Department of State, 20 Aug. 2013, web.archive.org/web/20140111012601/http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1059.html.
5. Delgado, Antonio Maria. “Venezuelan Criminals Have Begun Using Food to Recruit Children into Gangs.” Miamiherald.com, Miami Herald, 4 Jan. 2018, www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article193044269.html.
6. “Prisons in Venezuela.” Prison Insider, Dec. 2015, www.prison-insider.com/countryprofile/prisonsinvzla?s=le-systeme-penitentiaire#le-systeme-penitentiaire.