2024 half-year crime statistics for Quito

Primicias has published an article with crime statistics for the first half of 2024 for the Quito metropolitan area. In this article, the first half of 2024 is compared to the first half of 2023. It appears that most crime numbers have increased compared to last year. Note that most crime is not reported and therefore isn't included in the statistics.

Some statistics

• The three most dangerous districts are Eloy Alfaro, Eugenio Espejo, and La Delicia. These three districts account for 59% of the 6,746 crimes that were reported in the Quito metropolitan area in the first six months of 2024.

• Car theft skyrockets. Between January 1 and June 23, 2024, the police counted 1,232 stolen vehicles, compared to 675 in 2023. These numbers show an increase of 573 incidents, equivalent to 83%.

• Motorcycle theft also skyrockets. So far in 2024, the police have recorded an increase of 27% compared to the same period in 2023.

• Fewer robberies of commercial premises and homes. In the first case, the drop was 32%, and in the second, 30%.

• Fewer detainees. Despite the increase in crimes committed in Quito, the number of detainees by the National Police shows a drop. The official report of the entity indicates that the 95,388 operations carried out between January 1 and June 24, 2024, resulted in 5,097 detainees. This is fewer than the 5,184 apprehended in the same period of 2023.

• Fewer recovered motorcycles. The number of recovered motorcycles went from 216 to 196.

• Fewer seized firearms. The number of confiscated firearms was reduced from 294 to 286.

• More recovered cars. So far this year, the police have recovered 304 vehicles, compared to 223 in the same period of 2023.

Scopolamine robberies in the La Pradera neighborhood

The article mentions the La Pradera neighborhood for scopolamine robberies. This neighborhood is located directly south of Parque La Carolina and is popular for its nightlife. It has a high number of robbery victims. In this neighborhood, criminals operate around the bars, restaurants, and nightclubs. After identifying their victims, they steal their belongings using scopolamine.

An Example of violent cellphone robbery

The article gives an example of a violent cellphone robbery in the La Villaflora neighborhood, which is part of the Eloy Alfaro district, one of the three most dangerous districts of Quito:

The cellphone theft almost cost the life of Andrés S., who, on the night of June 15, 2024, was stabbed by two subjects in the La Villaflora sector, in the south of Quito. The help he received from the residents of the sector prevented him from bleeding to death and allowed him to reach a clinic to receive urgent medical attention. His mother Esthela A. says that her son was returning from a party when he was intercepted by two men, who threatened to kill him if he did not give them his cellphone. "My son objected and was stabbed without any qualms. They almost killed him," she recalls.