Ideas for Security in Venezuela

4) SECURITY

This is part of all the ideas about Venezuela.


4.1. FORCE ACCOUNTABILITY AND OPEN DEBATE ABOUT CRIME:
The Minister of Interior and Justice must explain to the Venezuelan people on a regular basis the progress on security issues. The minister must:

4.1.2: report every month how many murders were committed on the previous month:
This is not done regularly in Venezuela. The minister of Interior just reports some figures when it suits him (usually from the couple of isolated weeks when the murder rate is not climbing further).

4.1.2. report crime statistics on long term basis:
The government must produce every year a comprehensive statistical record for murders in Venezuela taking into account the development of the murder rate for the last 10 years and explain how the situation compares now with the one before this government took office.

4.1.3. declare publicly under oath that the statistics have not been massaged and that they are not redefining what an actual murder is (more on this later)

4.2. MAKE ROADS MORE SECURE THROUGH REAL DRIVING TESTS:
The Venezuelan government needs to reform the process of driving licences in Venezuela. The driving licence schools in Venezuela are mostly scams: the vast majority of Venezuelans pay for getting the driving licence. Tests are usually a formality: testers just dictate the answers to the people "taking" the theoretical examination, practical tests are nothing more.

4.3. ENFORCE A TECHNICAL CONTROL OF ALL VEHICLES OLDER THAN 4 YEARS:
As in Europe, every vehicle must pass a technical control after it is over 4 years old. It also needs to pass that test the first time it hits the road (this should be done by the car seller).
A vehicle should be tested, as in Europe, for:

• correct identification of the vehicle (plate and chassis number should be in accordance with papers
• smog emissions in accordance with certain international standards
• all brakes
• transmission
• view (all mirrors should be working)
• chassis should be in good condition
• front and back belts must be functioning

Check how they do it in Great Britain: Baseefa
If a car does not pass the test, the owner has 2 weeks to fix that and take the car to a new test. A car without control permit should never be allowed on the road. Accident insurances should then be invalid.

4.4. FORCE ACCOUNTABILITY ON ROAD SECURITY:
The Venezuelan government needs to publish online on an easily accessible site the amount of deaths in traffic accidents for every single month and show how the numbers are decreasing (more on deaths by traffic accidents later)

4.5. INFORM ABOUT DRUGS AND THEIR DANGER:
The military needs to distribute information (in the form of brochures or other means) everywhere, even in the most dangerous slums informing, about how harmful drugs are.

4.6. GET BETTER POLICE AGENTS:
Policemen need to be better payed and better selected.

4.7. GET MORE POLICE AGENTS:
There must be more policemen (but then we firstly need 4.6). I will find out about the amount of policemen per 1000 inhabitants, but I understand the ratio is very low in Venezuela.

4.8. CREATE AWARENESS AMONG DRUG IMPORTING NATIONS:
The government mast carry out a permanent campaign in Europe and North America for a lower consumption of drugs. Consumption in the North drives demand and promotes more crime in Venezuela and they should be reminded about this as often as possible.
Every tourist arriving in Venezuela should get a brochure warning about the heavy penalties involved in drug trafficking and asking them to carry the message home that drug consumers in the North are in great part responsible for the drug related crimes in Venezuela.