In Caracas, Armored Cars Are All the Rage

[naaman fletcher]

Luis Fuenmayor, a Caracas-based airline pilot, says he never considered armoring his Chevrolet Tahoe because of the $28,000 price tag. He changed his mind when two armed motorcyclists robbed him of his watch in traffic. "It seemed expensive at first, but then I realized that, more than an investment, it's a necessary cost," he says.

Since President Hugo Chávez took power in 1999, Venezuela has overtaken Colombia as South America's murder capital. That spells brisk business for security firms, which are adding the middle class to the traditional corporate client base, says Ingrid Suarez, manager at armored-car company Blindcorp. The number of businesses in Caracas that prepare vehicles against attack has risen to 47 from 12 five years ago, she says. It takes about a month to outfit a car with armor, since the automobile needs to be stripped down and reassembled.

The rise in violent crime reflects a broader breakdown in the rule of law, as criminals, many involved in the drug trade, operate with "complete impunity," says Roberto Briceño, who heads the Venezuelan Violence Observatory, a Caracas-based group that tracks crime. Last year, 17,600 people were murdered, a rate of 57 victims for every 100,000. In 1999, 5,968 were murdered, according to the Observatory. In the U.S., the murder rate was 5 per 100,000 in 2009.

The Chavez government says the murder rate in 2010 was lower, at 48 per 100,000. Elias Jaua, Venezuela's vice-president, said in a May 30 broadcast that the number of kidnappings fell 39 percent, to 174, in the first quarter of this year: "We are on the right path to reduce crime." That's hard to verify, since the government has not published crime statistics since 2005.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_27/b4235015371980.htm

[Judi Lynn]

1. The injustice of bullet proofed armored cars

The injustice of bullet proofed armored cars

~snip~
guess the upside is that Colombia is a country that excels in bullet proofing cars! (I imagine another country with lots of experience would be Iraq). Colombia actually exports bullet proofing technology to other countries, like Ecuador, Brazil, México and the United States.

But again, for a car to even qualify it has to have a certain power capacity to carry the extra weight of the armor added. And, usually, it is the rich who can afford that kind of car. A small car could, at best, support a level three job. To get higher levels you need to have a pick up or SUV with more horsepower. And the extra weight means the car will probably have to be replaced sooner than a normal car would, and will probably require increased maintenance costs. To get bullet proofing fixed if something goes wrong can cost up to eight million pesos, depending on what the problem is.

(Although the weight is coming down. It used to be that bullet proofing added 322 kilograms to the car... now it's about 230 kilograms more.)

Then there is the bureaucracy: all the permits needed to even get your car armored. If you have connections, those go faster.

No matter how you look at it, the rich and poor may both own vehicles, the but the rich do not have to obey the pico and placa laws if they fix their cars.

It's not like the lives of the rich are more valuable than those of the middle class. And the middle class is paying taxes for the roads, and taxes and insurance on their cars, but they can't use them on certain days.

More:
http://www.colombianblog.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=10628&sid=18614e5c518b85081880e40519c31aff

We've known about armored cars in Colombia for decades. There have even been tv news specials on the subject in the U.S. Brazil, as well.

[joshcryer]

2. So either Venezuela can aspire to be more like the US, or Brazil, or we can lament...

...whenever anyone believes that it's worth tens of thousands of dollars to armor their car. Talk about social insecurity.

[Bacchus39]

4. the poor don't have cars, they don't even have cell phones

what exactly have been the benefits of "la revolucion"?

[naaman fletcher]

5. I agree it is an injustice

The poor are disproportionatly affected by crime.

[joshcryer]

3. Question: not published crime statistics or simply not created crime statistics?

The reason crime statistics are so accurate in western countries is because they're published and able to be reviewed by third parties (FOIA in the US).

Who does the statistics in Venezuela and what is their justification for not publishing those statistics?

[Bacchus39]

6. reporting on crime statistics would not be advantageous to the government

so this information is repressed.

[joshcryer]

7. Is that their official stance? Did they ever come out and say why the stats were suppressed?

Right now I can tell you just how many people got into car accidents, were raped, were stabbed or shot in my city. It's a civic duty to be aware of these things in order to know the extent to which ones safety is concerned.

ie, if it was a warzone I may compelled to retrofit my vehicle with armor.

[Bacchus39]

8. all I can say its the official stance NOT to report violent crime statistics

I don't think they are as concerned with the citizenry as they are with retaining power. Venezuelans know the situation though.

[joshcryer]

9. Yeah, but without stats it's nearly impossible to know the geniune extent to which stuff happens.

The news reports daily on various violent crimes where I live and word on the street is that I live in the most ghetto place imaginable. Yet I don't feel unsafe when I go outside because I know that such crimes are one in a hundred thousand and that generally I have a higher risk of being injured in a car accident (either while walking down the street or driving) than being mugged or violently attacked.

I could not say the same about Caracas.