Researcher consulted by Emol on crime and the challenges for the police

Sophistication of criminals: The figures and the growing challenges for the police

Marco Zecchetto Rocco

From cybercrime to impersonation, the methods and ideas for committing crimes are multiplying.
In recent years, new criminal modalities, such as distraction thefts for escape (case of Portal La Dehesa), alleged impersonation of authorities, or increasing online scams (phishing, WhatsApp kidnapping), are some of the multiple techniques used by criminals that cast doubt on the police’s ability to confront them.

AthenaLab researcher Constanza Araos points out that both new forms of committing crimes, such as the aforementioned thefts, and other new criminal figures, such as extortion kidnappings or contract killings, have emerged in Chile.

According to the expert, a factor that complicates the situation is the use of new technologies employed in the commission of crimes. “In the classic ‘uncle’s tale,’ criminals now use Artificial Intelligence to simulate the voice or even the face of a family member, or phishing and complex systems for kidnapping banking data from cell phones are becoming increasingly common. This is because they are low-cost tools accessible to many and also difficult to pursue,” she argues.

According to Hugo Contreras, a researcher at the Faculty of Government UDD, among other crimes, thefts committed by ‘motochorros’ and ‘bicichorros’ have been observed more frequently, where the ‘lanzazo’ (surprise theft) or robbery with violence is committed by the criminal from their motorcycle or bicycle against a person walking carelessly or distractedly.

On the other hand, the academic asserts that new crimes associated with organized crime are being observed, such as: drug trafficking, arms trafficking, money laundering, smuggling, human trafficking, illicit trafficking of migrants, and cybercrime.

“Telephone scams (from prison), according to empirical data, originated in Chile and have expanded to other countries, conducting scams from Chile to Europe, having accomplices in the old world. There are techniques that emerge, and there are techniques that come back to life (the uncle’s tale has never ceased to exist). There are techniques like Facebook kidnapping, where they impersonate the owner of the social network and ‘request’ money (it is almost always a known person, and for the victim, it would be an honor to help),” comments Eduardo Labarca, a retired prefect of the PDI and consultant in public and private security.

What the figures say

Hugo Contreras indicates that records from the Center for Studies and Analysis of Crime (CEAD) confirm that the rates of police cases for 2022 show that homicides increased by 34.4% compared to 2021. Additionally, robbery with violence or intimidation increased by 64.3%, surprise theft by 62.4%, injuries (minor, less serious, and serious) by 25.9%, and possession of weapons by 53.4%.

According to the PDI, 46 kidnappings were recorded last year, representing a 76.9% increase compared to the previous year, which reported 26%. According to figures from Carabineros, from 2017 to 2022, 1,925 of these crimes were recorded.

In 2022 alone, 508 kidnappings were counted (79% more than in 2021), with the Metropolitan Region recording the highest number of cases, most of which were extortion-related, with small business owners being the profile of the victims. Constanza Araos highlights the significant homicide figures in Chile, placing special emphasis on the violent manner in which victims are treated.

“On the other hand, cybercrime has risen since 2017, with a 53% increase until 2021, which, according to the National Urban Citizen Security Survey (with data from 2021), would affect about 560,000 households. The most common cybercrime is fraud, which, according to official data, tripled from 2017 to 2021, followed by harassment, stalking, and/or receiving unsolicited sexual messages, which increased by 43% between 2019 and 2020,” asserts the AthenaLab researcher.

Araos mentions that another increase is evident in crimes related to the acquisition, storage, commercialization, and/or production of child pornography, which increased by 50.5% from 2017 to 2021. “I want to emphasize that all these crimes are associated with organized crime,” she expresses.

Police preparation and the actions of the authorities

Constanza Araos argues that, despite good police training in Chile, there must be perfectly regulated powers in the laws, along with a political will to employ them, arguing that the police are obedient and not deliberative.

The specialist emphasizes the importance of the role of the authorities, as they are the ones who instruct the actions of the Order and Security Forces. In this context, she points out that the coordination of intelligence and preventive measures is important, but another fundamental aspect is the policies against organized crime.

“This means effectively applying the special investigative measures that the law now allows, generating laws efficiently to classify and sanction the new types of crimes effectively, working institutionally on the indices of impunity, pursuing the assets resulting from criminal activity, and supporting the actions of the police in the fight against crime,” comments Araos.

Regarding these new crimes, such as phishing or identity kidnappings on social networks, Eduardo Labarca asserts that police preparation is adequate, arguing that these are low-punishment crimes, where there is always a ‘front man’ to whom the illicitly acquired funds are deposited. In this regard, the expert emphasizes the prevention protocols that individuals, families, and businesses should have to avoid becoming victims of scams.

In relation to the actions of the authorities and the State, Hugo Contreras asserts that, so far, only a reaction is being made with the new National Policy against Organized Crime, and that after its implementation, a greater prevention of these types of crimes is expected.

“Now, regardless of the policy, citizens could act more preventively against certain crimes. For example, in the case of scams through emails or fraudulent messages, they can verify the origin and veracity of these before responding or clicking on any link. In this case, banks always inform that they do not send any type of information through these channels or request passwords. The actions of motochorros can be prevented by walking carefully, without exposing phones or valuable personal belongings,” adds the researcher from the Faculty of Government UDD.

According to Constanza Araos, from an institutional perspective, it is the State’s duty to strengthen prevention measures, emphasizing the restructuring of decision-makers so that they can react quickly and effectively through a Security Architecture. On the other hand, from the victims’ perspective, the expert highlights the importance of being informed about the new forms of committing crimes.

“Here, I want to focus particularly on the case of cybercrime; there are official State channels like CSIRT (Computer Security Incident Response Team), which help raise awareness about the use of technologies and how to prevent becoming a victim of these types of crimes. It is also important to reach all sectors of the population, as there are more vulnerable groups to these types of behaviors, such as the elderly or those with little or no digital education,” adds the researcher.

Source: Emol