Homicides fall 16.7% in Chile by 25 October: Minister Arrau's report
Public Security Minister Martín Arrau presented crime figures for 2026: homicides and violent robberies down, drug seizures up.
Chile registers 16.7% drop in homicides and 57.9% increase in drug seizures
According to radioagricultura.cl, Public Security Minister Martín Arrau delivered a report on the main crime figures for 2026 following his chairmanship of the weekly police committee.
By 25 October, completed homicides fell 16.7% compared with the same period in 2025. In the Metropolitan Region the decline was steeper, reaching 21.3%. The regions with the largest percentage reductions were Atacama, with a decline of 52.9%, and Arica y Parinacota, with 43.5%.
"We still have a long road ahead to continue recovering the peace that the country lost, but we are seeing good figures," Arrau said.
Violent robberies also declined: 14.5%, equivalent to 12,391 fewer cases than in the same period of 2025. The reduction was mainly explained by the fall in robberies with violence or intimidation, which dropped 19.4%, and violent vehicle thefts, which fell 24.6%.
On drug trafficking, the figures point in the opposite direction. Between January and 25 October, the PDI, Carabineros and Gendarmería seized 115,374.5 kilos of drugs, an increase of 57.9% compared with the same period the previous year. "More than the tonnage, which is a good indicator, what matters is the dismantling of criminal gangs dedicated to drug trafficking, more people detained and more criminal groups behind bars," the Secretary of State asserted.
Regarding kidnappings, Arrau highlighted that cases confirmed by the Police of Investigations fell 30% compared with 2025. The Undersecretary of Crime Prevention, Gonzalo Guerrero, announced that a working group would be established with the Undersecretary of Public Security to standardise methodology and consolidate an official kidnapping figure. Subsequently, police forces and the Public Ministry would be incorporated, following the mechanism already used for homicide statistics.
Among the notable operations of the past week, the minister mentioned a joint action by Carabineros and PDI that resulted in the removal of almost 2,200 motorcycles from circulation. The operation ended with 189 people detained: 127 were caught in flagrante and 62 had outstanding court orders. "It was a good operation that we will certainly need to repeat more frequently," Arrau said.
The minister added that regulatory modifications were being evaluated to advance the destruction of vehicles that do not meet standards.
Source: Google News CL — Crime