From mid-90s on, the homicide rate in Bogotá steadily decreased and has reached relatively low levels within the national urban context. Nevertheless, violence in the capital is still considerable under any international standards and some sectors of the city have really high homicide records. This article approaches the influence of crime structures on the homicide levels in the city, based upon an analysis of the distinct manifestations of violence, as well as spatial and diffusional homicide patterns in Bogotá. Three core conclusions emerge from the evidence on homicide violence in Bogotá for the 1997-199 period: 1) violent deaths are highly concentrated in a few points and that geographical pattern is consistent along time; 2) instrumental violence (those that are the result of retributions and fights) contributes with a higher number of deaths than the impulsive type (homicide resulting from domestic violence and street fights, which together with drinking, end up being fatal); and 3) there is a relevant geographical convergence between intense violence hotspots and the presence of crime structures associated to illegal markets and outlaw activities, and belonging to the "underground world". These conclusions challenge the predominant debate in Colombia, which focuses on urban violence phenomena resulting from general problems of citizenship socialization - specially intolerance - and which minimizes or ignores those resulting from the gradual rise in organized delinquency.
urban violence; homicides; crime mapping; safety policies; citizenship; Colombia
