Police abuse

Riot police during the protests in Bogotá.JUAN BARRETO / AFP

The protests that broke out last week in Colombia after the death of a lawyer who was in police custody have shown that the country still has a serious problem with the monopoly of force and the management of the security forces.

The mobilizations degenerated into a pitched battle in Bogotá and in the municipality of Soacha, near the capital, but the reaction of the agents was disproportionate and marked by violence and abuse.

The clashes left at least 13 civilians dead and more than 70 wounded by gunfire.

The anger of the protesters was targeted at the police and urban police stations, the so-called Integral Action Commands (CAI).

Especially the Mobile Anti-Riot Squad, which has become a symbol of repression and is the object of harsh questioning since the wave of student protests last November.

The crisis also put the leadership of the country's main authorities to the test: the president, Iván Duque, who governs with the support of the Democratic Center and a sector of the right accustomed to the unconditional defense of the uniformed;

the mayor of Bogotá, Claudia López, from the Green party, spoke openly of the "massacre against young people" and reproached the president for not having attended a tribute to the victims called by the mayor's office.

The episodes of violence and abuse, documented by recordings and more than a hundred complaints, nevertheless have a background that goes beyond political tensions.

Colombia signed a peace agreement with the FARC four years ago that led to the demobilization of the oldest guerrilla in America after more than half a century of armed conflict.

The country is still far from having solved the problem of violence, but it is no longer at permanent war with an insurgent organization.

Society is changing, the transition is underway and it is irreversible.

In this context, a reform of the security forces is urgent, starting with the police.

It is not a mere claim that stirs up the debate in the partisan arena.

It is a real need supported by the opinion of Colombians themselves.

More than 57% of those consulted in the latest Gallup study have an unfavorable image of agents.

Although there are political forces interested in encouraging opposition in the street against the current government, the problem goes further and is structural.

That is why you need an ambitious solution, which begins by recognizing that security management must change and adapt to a new country.