Spaces of crime: homicides, drugs and spatial dependency in three Latin American cities. National crime statistics in Colombia, 2024 – National Police
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This article analyses the spatial relationship between homicides and drug seizures in three Latin American cities: Cali (Colombia), Curitiba (Brazil) and Monterrey (Mexico). Through a comparative approach and the use of spatial econometric models (SLM and SEM), differentiated patterns of concentration and spatial dependence are identified. The results show that seizures, as a proxy for the drug market, are positively associated with homicides, although the type of spatial dependence varies by city. In Curitiba, a territorial spillover effect is observed, while in Cali and Monterrey unobserved structural influences predominate. These findings confirm that homicidal violence is deeply territorialised and linked to local criminal dynamics. As a complementary input, a statistical annex is presented at the end of the article with a national overview of crime in Colombia for the year 2024, based on the records of the National Police, which allows us to contextualise the specificity of the homicide phenomenon in relation to the broader set of crimes recorded in the country.
Source: Revista Criminalidad
Authors: Miguel Antonio Cipagauta Díaz, Williams Gilberto Jiménez García, Anayely Mandujano Montoya, Rafael Gomes Sentone, Juan Pablo García Pérez, Alexander Marulanda Gómez
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4414404153