The requirement of the use of a reflective vest in daytime hours managed, at the time, to reduce thefts.

Confirming the public perception that it is a crime on the rise, this newspaper revealed last Friday that, according to 2020 figures, 13 robberies are committed per day in Bogotá using motorcycles. The scene of a passerby, driver, or cyclist surprised by a grill man who intimidates him into stripping him of his belongings and then fleeing. Sometimes, as in the case that shook Bogotá recently, the criminal goes much further and shoots at close range. Frequently, more than one motorcycle participates in the robbery.

Given this understandable concern of the people that extends throughout the country, since cases that follow the pattern described are also repeatedly recorded in other urban centers, several proposals are on the table. Among them, the one made by the Secretary of Security of Bogotá, Hugo Acero, to revive the requirement of the use, in daylight hours, of a reflective vest that bears the plate of the device stamped.

This rule was in force between 1999 and 2010, and at the time it managed to reduce, at least in Bogotá, this type of crime. According to Acero, its implementation, which would have to be through a law approved by Congress, would have several effects: “It reduces the theft of motorcycles; a vest gives visibility and helps reduce injuries and deaths, and the controls are more effective”. It must be reiterated that it has already shown some effectiveness, which did not occur with another more drastic decision that is also being discussed, such as the restriction of the movement of male barbecue members.

Undoubtedly, the efforts of the authorities to guarantee the tranquility of the inhabitants of Colombian cities cannot be limited to a single measure. Many have to be taken, and of them, the majority must go to the root of the problem, who discusses it. But this reality does not prevent us from starting with one whose implementation is feasible and which, surely, will be many more who will appreciate it.