Reports of thefts of students continue in Bucaramanga

Different educational communities and students' families warn of the growth of retention for theft, a form of assault that is taking place in school settings in Bucaramanga. Beyond robbery, there is great concern about possible cases in which minors may be victims of sexual abuse or “express kidnapping”, as the authorities call this type of abduction.

The allegations indicate that criminals stalk students in the vicinity of schools, corner them, then intimidate them with weapons and drive them, against their will, to desolate or dangerous places to strip them of their belongings.

In the course of this week, an operation was carried out on Calle de Los Estudiantes, in order to intervene in problems such as the commercialization of narcotics and the carrying of weapons. The local administration and the police say that patrols and the presence of officers in the vicinity of educational institutions increased.

reported the Mayor's Office of Bucaramanga, which added that 24 bladed weapons and a traumatic weapon were seized on that day, in addition, 7 minors were taken to police stations.

According to La Vanguardia, in the first quarter of 2022, 1,863 captures were recorded in Bucaramanga. The administration reported growth of 14%, compared to the same period in 2022.

The security situation around the schools in Bucaramanga is not the best, in fact, the situation on a daily basis tends to get more complicated. At a meeting of rectors with the police commander, the secretary of education and the secretary of the interior, held in early March, teachers from different schools in the city denounced that young students are stripped of their cell phones, notebooks and school supplies every day.

The rectors of official educational establishments in Bucaramanga say that insecurity took over school environments with their thefts and sale of hallucinogenic drugs. Some parents say that sending their children to classrooms became a real headache.

For example, a rector of one of the schools in the north of Bucaramanga warned that drugs are not sold in that area, they give them away to students to make them addicted and/or put them in the microtrafficking business.

During the meeting, the mayor's office reported that 400 police officers were available to guard the 121 official schools of the city. Education Secretary Ana Leonor Rueda said that measures were taken to attack criminals so that peace and security could be restored in school environments. For example, they will create a WhatsApp account where there will be direct communication between the rectors and the commander of the Bucaramanga Metropolitan Police.

Also, the Secretary of the Interior, Melisa Franco, assured that all the security cameras around the schools will be checked. The objective is to fix those that are in poor condition and put them in a direct line with the police, to act immediately when cases of insecurity are reported.

Official figures show that the theft of people increased last year in Bucaramanga, there were 5969 complaints of theft of people, 842 from commercial premises, 653 motorcycle thefts, 464 cases in residences. Of the nearly 6,000 alerts, 98% of the cases presented minor injuries, 2% ended with the murder of the victim and 1% presented the aggravated sexual violence.

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