Proactive policing approach to recent crime changes during the Covid-19 pandemic scenario

Abstract

Based on historical institutionalism, the actions developed by the National Police of Colombia in 2020 regarding the police service are delineated, on the occasion of the health emergency scenario generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which changed the criminogenic framework and the behaviour of criminal actors and crime in the country. Hence, the police used a proactive policing and tactical criminology approach to crime containment in Colombia, which is explained in this chapter. Among the main results, we underscore the use of scientific evidence and tactical criminology as support for police service planning, for the design of actions that were associated with a 4.2% decrease in homicide in Colombia, evidencing the containment of rebound crime as an effect of the reconfiguration of crime at the critical juncture of the confinement. Likewise, this chapter can be a reference for security agencies, providing a reflection on the lessons learned in the application of a proactive policing approach towards the recent changes in crime during the COVID-19 pandemic scenario.