Evidence points to rising homicide rates in Central America and the Caribbean that are “near crisis point,” the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a report unveiled last week
UNODC’s Global Study on Homicide blames firearms for the rising murder rates, where almost three quarters of all homicides are committed with guns, compared to 21 per cent in Europe.
Men face a much higher risk of violent death (11.9 per 100,000) than women (2.6 per 100,000), although there are variations between countries and regions.
Worldwide, 468,000 homicides occurred last year. Some 36 percent of all homicides take place in Africa, 31 percent in the Americas, 27 percent in Asia, 5 percent in Europe, and 1 percent in Oceania.
Countries with wide income disparities are four times more likely to be afflicted by violent crime than more equitable societies. Conversely, economic growth seems to stem that tide, as the past 15 years in South America have shown.
Chronic crime is both a major cause and result of poverty, insecurity and under-development, the study points out. Crime drives away business, erodes human capital and destabilizes society.
