Colombia. Jairo Libreros, a lawyer from the Externado de Colombia University and an expert consultant on security issues, was in the city of Neiva participating in a conversation on this matter. The talk was also accompanied by Senator Carlos Fernando Galán of the Radical Change party.
On the terrace of the Neiva Plaza hotel, dozens of opitas that accompany the candidacy of Germán Alberto Bahamón for Mayor of Neiva, and the community in general, gathered to listen to a conversation about citizen security, one of the pillars of the political proposal of that candidate.
Jairo Libreros, lawyer and expert in this field, was the special guest at the event along with the senator of the Radical Change party, Carlos Fernando Galán. Both gave their perception of the subject from examples, figures and experiences. "When we talk about security, we also talk about fear," libreros said, while his companion, Senator Galán, argued the importance of the field of citizen security for the construction of democracy in Colombia. The discussion allowed to debate, reflect and propose strategies that allow citizens not to feel vulnerable in this aspect.
And it is that the capital of Huila is no stranger to this scourge, more if you take into account that the latest figures revealed by the National Department of Statistics (DANE), place the city as the most insecure in the country, with an index of 23%. The above, regardless of the population density of this town compared to large cities such as Bogotá, Medellín or Cali, having the first of these three a rate of 18% of homicides for a range of 100,000 inhabitants.
But what is a safe city? There are no specific parameters to define it but there are references to establish what decisions to make regarding the implementation of measures that allow a city to be so. In this way, and according to Libreros, strategies such as video surveillance, which start from technological elements, become key and main to guarantee security in cities like Neiva.
"The issue of security became famous in 2006 with Uribe's democratic security. Neiva does not have the best indicators in security and has an unfair weight in this matter on account of the armed conflict, but also another greater one and that is that the administrations have not taken this issue very much into account. The cities with the best security indicators have been accompanied by administrations with a vision focused on this point," said Libreros.
Technology and citizen security
"Thinking about security without technology is impossible, turning our backs on scientific advances and not putting them at the service of the city and development to build smart cities like Neiva would be a waste," said Libreros.
For 2014 the Integrated Emergency and Security System in Neiva (SIES) allowed the integration of 90 new security cameras, consolidating a total of 126 and making Neiva the city with the most video surveillance devices installed in the country. To date, the cameras do not work in their entirety and the shortcomings are notorious to the point that the method itself has not contributed to the decrease in insecurity rates and neivanos feeling safe.
"There is not a single successful citizen security experience where security cameras are secret, it's a bad joke. The idea is that everyone knows about the existence of these so that they feel safe, but also to inquire if it really works. Security cameras have to be part of the day to day and not an obstacle in private life, "said Libreros in this regard.
Therefore, the expert added that the technological base should tend towards two initiatives. The first is the creation of digital fences (video surveillance) which would allow not only to evidence security indexes and prevent the commission of crimes, but also the recovery of public places diagnosed as critical in terms of insecurity. In this first aspect, three approaches thus play: crime prevention, biometrics (identification of faces) and reconstruction of the crime scene. And the second initiative concerning citizen perception, "has to do with joining forces to make citizens feel safe and committed to the city in this matter," said the expert.
