Chavez Launches National Police in Violent Venezuela

[Judi Lynn]

Chavez Launches National Police in Violent Venezuela
December 20, 2009

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela on Sunday launched the first part of a national police force intended to end widespread police corruption in the South American nation, which has one of the world's highest murder rates.

Polls show the high crime rate is the population's main concern in the oil exporting nation, where about 14,000 people are murdered each year.

The new uniformed police force will operate initially in one poor neighborhood in the capital Caracas, but will be rolled out nationally in coming months. It is expected to have 5,000 officers by the end of 2010.

~snip~
Rights groups say police officers are responsible for thousands of "extra-judicial" killings each year. Interior Minister Tarek El Aissami says up to 20 percent of crimes are committed by the police.

More:
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=9386971

[Braulio]

1. 5000 officers for a population of 30 million

From Wikipedia:

The NYPD's current authorized uniformed strength is 37,838. There are also approximately 4,500 Auxiliary Police Officers, 5,000 School Safety Agents, 2,300 Traffic Enforcement Agents, and 370 Traffic Enforcement Supervisors currently employed by the department.

The population size is 8.4 million.

The population of Venezuela is about 30 million.