Crime in Peru
{{short description|none}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{update|the recent spike in crime|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox Uniform Crime Reports
|city_name = Peru
|year = 2017
|homicide = 7.8*
|forcible_rape =
|robbery =
|aggravated_assault =
|violent_crime =
|burglary =
|larceny_theft =
|motor_vehicle_theft = 18,106
|arson =
|property_crime =
|source_url = https://www.inei.gob.pe/media/MenuRecursivo/publicaciones_digitales/Est/Lib1534/libro.pdf
|source_name = INEI Statistical Yearbook of Crime and Citizen Security 2011–2017
|notes =
}}
Crime in Peru has steadily decreased since the 2010s and into the 2020s.{{Cite web|date=1 April 2021|title=Candidatos presidenciales dieron datos falsos sobre la pandemia y otros temas políticos en tercer debate del JNE|url=https://ojo-publico.com/2596/candidatos-presidenciales-dieron-datos-falsos-en-tercer-debate-del-jne|url-status=live|access-date=4 April 2021|website=Ojo Público|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210401132732/https://ojo-publico.com/2596/candidatos-presidenciales-dieron-datos-falsos-en-tercer-debate-del-jne |archive-date=1 April 2021 }} Peru's main indicators of crime are the homicide rate and the victimization rate; the victimization rate dropped from forty percent in 2011 to under twenty five percent in 2020.
Crime by type
= Murder =
{{See|List of countries by intentional homicide rate}}
In 2012, Peru had a murder rate of 9.6 per 100,000 population. There were a total of 1,986 murders in Peru in 2012.[https://www.unodc.org/gsh/en/index.html Global Study on Homicide.] United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2013. By 2015, this had declined to 7.2-7.32{{Cite book |url=https://www.inei.gob.pe/media/MenuRecursivo/publicaciones_digitales/Est/Lib1534/libro.pdf |title=Perú: Anuario Estadístico de la Criminalidad y Seguridad Ciudadana 2011-2017 |publisher=INEI |year=2018 |pages=177 |language=es}}{{Cite web |title=Country list {{!}} dataUNODC |url=https://dataunodc.un.org/content/country-list |access-date=2024-03-27 |website=dataunodc.un.org}} per 100,000, with 2,247 murders recorded.
= Corruption =
{{See|Corruption in Peru}}
Peru's most prominent political corruption scandal is probably the case of Alberto Fujimori, Peru's ex-President. Fujimori has been convicted of having ordered killings, embezzlement of public funds, abuse of power and corruption during his 10 years of presidency (1990–2000). In 2006, Fujimori fled to Japan with an alleged USD 600 million of public assets. He has been sentenced to a total of more than 30 years in prison.{{cite web|title=Freedom in the World- Peru|url=http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2013/peru|publisher=Freedom House|accessdate=6 February 2014}}
= Domestic violence =
{{See|Domestic violence in Peru|Femicides in Peru}}
In 2006, Ministry of Women and Social Development (MIMDES) centers reported 25,036 cases of domestic violence in Peru. The centers helped an average of 2,067 men and women per month. MIMDES also operated a toll-free hot line, which handled 7,785 requests for assistance regarding family disturbances during 2006.
Women's organizations noted that alcohol abuse and traditional attitudes toward women aggravated the problems of rape and sexual abuse, particularly in rural areas. In November 2006, the World Health Organization reported that 69 percent of Peruvian women said they had suffered from some form of physical violence in their lives.[https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78902.htm Report on Human Rights Practices 2006: Peru]. United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (6 March 2007). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
A 2013 study by University of San Martín de Porres found that violence against women cost per $6.7 billion USD annually due to the loss of productivity.{{Cite web|date=11 November 2014|title=La violencia contra la mujer genera pérdidas de US$ 6.7 mil mlls. al año en el Perú {{!}} Economía {{!}} Gestion.pe|url=http://gestion.pe/economia/violencia-contra-mujer-genera-perdidas-us-67-mil-mlls-al-ano-peru-2084796|access-date=4 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111095912/http://gestion.pe/economia/violencia-contra-mujer-genera-perdidas-us-67-mil-mlls-al-ano-peru-2084796|archive-date=11 November 2014}}
= Illegal drug trade =
{{See|Illegal drug trade in Peru}}
The illegal drug trade in Peru includes the growing of coca and the shipment of cocaine to the United States. In 2013, the United Nations reported that Peru had become the largest producer of cocaine in the world.{{Cite web|date=27 March 2017|title=4 Reasons Why Peru Became World's Top Cocaine Producer|url=https://insightcrime.org/news/analysis/why-peru-top-cocaine-producer/|url-status=live|access-date=4 April 2021|website=InSight Crime|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225094536/https://www.insightcrime.org/news/analysis/why-peru-top-cocaine-producer/ |archive-date=25 December 2017 }}
=Illegal logging=
{{See|Illegal logging in the Peruvian Amazon}}
Law and justice system
The Ministry of the Interior is the main interior authority within Peru, overseeing the Peruvian National Police. The Judicial Power of Peru oversees the judiciary of Peru, with the Superior Courts of Justice of Peru assuming the role of trying criminal cases. The Instituto Nacional Penitenciario is the government authority tasked with the incarceration of criminals within the country.