A compendium of Colombian policing challenges : from Pablo to present

Colombia has one of the oldest democracies in Latin American, however it has a history of violence that stretches from the time of the breakup of Gran Colombia. Simón Bolívar’s vision started to erode in the 1830s and ended in 1903 with the independence of Panama. Contemporary Colombia saw violence continue with peasant revolts in the 1920s and 30s, la Violencia in the 1940s, the formation of the insurgent groups like the FARC and ELN in the 1960s, the creation of drug cartels in the 1970s and their transformation into narco-terrorist groups and then micro traffickers in the 1980s and 1990s. There have been limited periods of peace for the citizens of Colombia. These events have consequently challenged Colombia's judiciary and police forces in the areas of general violence, inequality, geographical policing challenges, corruption, case backlog and Colombian police leadership. As former president Belisario Betancur states, 'Modern times have not been easy for Colombia' (1998, p.XV). The challenges in writing this thesis have been considerable. This author has utilised experience gained from living and working in Colombia for over five and a half years and the experience of his protected sources as well as the foundations laid by other academics and the media in order to present the most significant of the challenges to Colombian policing in the last forty years. The goal of this document is to form a compendium on these areas for those who are new to Colombian policing, its judiciary and the history that has helped to shape them.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

other

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

London Metropolitan University

Year dc:date.issued

2018

Author dc:creator

• Jeapes, Anthony Christian John Lloyd

• 360 Social problems & services; associations

Dc Identifier Grantnumber

N/A

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.londonmet.ac.uk:4259