Theft and psychological violence, most reported crimes in Ecuador. Tips to identify them and avoid being victims of these events

They intercept them on foot, by motorcycle or even in cars. There are victims who are cornered or dragged on the ground to take away their belongings, such as purses, backpacks, cell phones and money. Others are pointed at with firearms to rob them of their belongings while they are in a business, such as restaurants, or when they are walking down the street.

They are the most common forms of robbery in Ecuador and in areas considered dangerous, such as Guayaquil, where assaults occur daily.

Only in January of this 2022, 2,221 robberies were registered nationwideversus the January 1,836, 2021, according to figures from the Ministry of Government. Of these, in Guayaquil 715 were committed in January of this year, compared to 636 in January 2021.

The motorcycle thefts also rose in January of this year: they were located in 928 nationwidewhile in January 2021 there were 639. The carjacking went from 529 in January 2021 to 770 in January this 2022reveal the figures of the Ministry of Government.

To avoid assault in the north of Guayaquil, a 64-year-old man crashed his car into a post

Theft in general is the most reported crime in the Ecuadorian Prosecutor’s Office, followed by psychological violence against women, intimidation, fraud and theft. And that has been maintained since August 2014, when the Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code (COIP) came into force.

Since then, the complaints for theft and psychological violence have not changed location, while the other three have changed location from one year to the next, but have never left the fifth position, according to statistics from the State Attorney General’s Office.

At the national level, from August 2014 (with the COIP) to December 2020, the Prosecutor’s Office registered a total of 2,158,790 complaints for various criminal types. Of this, 536,864 were for theft and ranked first, followed by psychological violence against women or family, with 263,462; theft, with 187,735, and intimidation, with 175,498.

With less than 100,000 complaints, the scam appears, with 99,298; material damage, with 98,533; injuries caused by traffic accidents, with 95,237, and illicit trafficking in controlled substances (drugs, chemical precursors and others), with 67,034. The rest of the crimes are below the 50,000 complaints received by the Prosecutor’s Office in that period.

But what can be done to avoid being robbed victims?

Security expert John Garaycoa says that among the transnational or international crimes that also affect Ecuador —but most of the time they go unreported— there are internal frauds, internal thefts, scams through social networks and telephone extortion ( with which money is taken from the victim) through calls, video calls or messages through applications, such as WhatsApp and social networks, which are gaining ground these days.

For him, it is important to report this extortion or threat, because currently, with the technology available, it is possible to find the criminal behind it and it would also prevent that threat from becoming a reality at some point.

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In between, there are multiple profiles of criminals, from those who prowl the streets to steal their cell phones or bags from citizens, to those who go after armored cars, rob ATMs or larger businesses, who also use technology and “personal” .

The latter also work with what is known in the media as “criminal intelligence”, through which they buy information within companies (from workers) to play it safe, says Garaycoa.

Criminals who assault or rob citizens on the streets currently use motorcycles and cars at the same time. Thus, they arrive in the car (where more people go), assault or rob, and flee on the motorcycle that awaits them.

For this reason, citizens must be alert in the street to what is happening in their environment.

General tips for applying:

• If you are walking down the street, walk against or against the traffic, as you can see who is coming.
• Do not walk in the street with articles and valuable objects, such as cell phones in your hands, which can tempt criminals.
• Do not carry your cell phone, wallet, money and documents in one place. You must distribute them. Always use some element or something of little value as “bait”. For example, women can go with their purse in their arms, but that their valuables are hidden in other parts of the body or in their clothes.
• The same happens if you go in the car. You shouldn’t carry everything in your wallet. Documents and other valuables should be stored in another part of the car that is not visible to the criminal.
• In case of assault or robbery, there is no need to put up resistance, because the offender can shoot or hurt you with the weapon (white, like a knife) that he has.
• Report the telephone extortions or threats that you receive.
• On the street, in businesses or shopping centers, children should always be held by the hand of an adult in the family, to prevent them from getting lost, being taken away or running terrified in the event of unfortunate events, such as shootings or shootings, which have already occurred in Guayaquil and in other cities, where minors, collateral victims, have died from stray bullets.

Tips for merchants:

• Small businesses cannot have all their merchandise in one place, they must spread it out.
• In the case of those who sell cell phones, they should not have the premises and the warehouse in the same space, because the criminal will try to enter on the safe side, since he knows that these places have a warehouse, says the president of the firm of MacSecurity security.
• All the elements that businesses may have add up to crime prevention, such as alarms, cameras and access control or entry to the site.
• It is also vital to control the employees or personnel of businesses and even households, since there have been cases of workers who make copies of the keys and then steal or find ways to remove goods.

How to identify or recognize psychological violence, the second most reported crime in Ecuador?

“When we do something that goes against our principles, values… It is something that disgusts us, that does not make us feel good. It could be that we are facing a mental manipulation of someone who is exerting some violence and pressure towards us, to do these kinds of things that are making us feel bad”, says psychologist Julia Regalado about one of the ways to identify psychological violence towards the woman.

Another way is when you have fear, intense, unjustified emotions, extreme emotions, which contradict the reality that appears to be. At that level, the victim is practically defenseless.

Psychological violence has a thousand faces. It is an abuse that leaves sequels in the victims, says Regalado, director of the School for Parents of RVL Consultores y Auditores.

She comments that this psychological violence causes emotional damage to the victim, it can completely destroy her self-esteem, it affects her honor, it disturbs her.

There is humiliation, intimidation, mistreatment; the victim isolates himself, feels nervous and even has a headache; she doesn’t feel comfortable, she doesn’t want to go home, among other symptoms.

In the case of the aggressor, he always wants to exert a change in the woman. He seeks to manipulate her, nullify her; he threatens her, assaults her, tells her and repeats harmful expressions.

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And to get out of that, it is necessary to seek help, stop suffering in silence, because the aggressor is not going to change, adds this professional. In addition, extreme and brutal levels of violence against women can be reached, such as femicide.

According to the Law to Prevent and Eradicate Violence Against Women, psychological violence is any action, omission or pattern of conduct aimed at causing emotional damage, lowering self-esteem, affecting honor, provoking disrepute, belittling personal dignity, disturbing, degrading cultural identity, expressions of youth identity or control the conduct, behavior, beliefs or decisions of a woman, through humiliation, intimidation, confinement, isolation, forced treatment or any other act that affects her psychological and emotional stability.

The most reported crimes in Ecuador

There are nine crimes that ranked first among the 295,682 cases filed throughout 2021 in the Ecuadorian Attorney General’s Office. And these are:

The remaining 88,789 complaints (of the 295,682), which correspond to 30%, are of other criminal acts, stated the State Attorney General, Diana Salazar, on March 2, in the rendering of accounts, to which the State entities and those that manage public funds. (I)