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Penco

Medium-low incidence Population: 50,189
4,884
Rate per 100,000 inhabitants (2025)
More reported crime than 48%
of Chile's communes
CEAD 2025 · #180 of 346 · 1 = most reported incidence
More reported crime than 39%
of communes in Biobío
CEAD 2025 · #20 of 33 · 1 = most reported incidence

Annual evolution (2005–present)

Declining
16% below national average
11% below regional average

Reported incidence by crime category (2025)

Life crimes 1093
Property crimes 1013
Violent robbery 127
Disorder 1710
Domestic violence 665
Drug crimes 127
Weapons 149

Note: this is CEAD’s "Drug Crimes" family — criminal offences under Ley 20.000 (trafficking, micro-trafficking and cultivation). It is a low-volume, mostly police-detected category. Public drug or alcohol consumption is classified by CEAD under Disorder, not here, so this figure understates total drug-related police activity.

Homicides (2025)

2 per 100,000 inhabitants (1 case)

Source: CEAD, subgroup 101 Life Crimes (2025)

Crime evolution by category (2005–present)

Life crimes

2005–2026

Property crimes

2005–2026

Violent robbery

2005–2026

Disorder

2005–2026

Domestic violence

2005–2026

Drug crimes

2005–2026

Weapons

2005–2026

Homicide

2005–2026

Faded points indicate partial-year data.

Composite Crime Index (2024)

18 Low
#223 of 346 nationally · #25 in Biobío
Composite of reported crimes (CEAD/SPD), adjusted for SII economic activity. Does not reflect unreported crime. Reference year: 2024.

Household Victimization (ENUSC 2024)

5.2% (2024)
95% confidence interval: 3.6% – 7.4%
INE experimental estimate (SAE-modeled). Proportion of households reporting at least one violent crime. Covers 136 of 346 comunas. Distinct from CEAD reported-crime index — measures victimization survey responses, not police denuncias. Source: INE Estadísticas Experimentales, Seguridad Ciudadana.

Comparable commune (same region)

Florida Biobío
4,901 per 100k inh. #178 of 346 Stable

View on Map

See Penco on the interactive Chile crime map →

Similar Communes in This Region

Communes in Biobío with similar reported CEAD incidence rates:

Commune Rate per 100k
National rank Trend
Florida 4,901 #178 Stable
Nacimiento 4,914 #174 Rising
Tirúa 5,027 #165 Rising
Curanilahue 5,100 #160 Rising
Negrete 5,114 #158 Declining

Glossary

Rankings by Crime Type

According to CEAD records, Penco (Biobío region) has seen a declining trend in reported crime incidence. The commune ranked 180 of 346 nationally in 2025, with an official rate of 4,883.8 incidents per 100,000 inhabitants.

Penco is one of the communes that make up the Biobío region. Within the region, it holds regional rank 20, a position that reflects its incidence level relative to other communes in the same administrative area. Regional comparisons are particularly relevant because they account for shared socioeconomic conditions, urban density patterns, and local reporting infrastructure that may influence measured incidence across the region.

The reported incidence rate of Penco in 2025 is close to the per-capita national mean computed across non-low-population communes. The difference is within a narrow margin, suggesting that the commune's reported activity broadly tracks the national level for communes of comparable data quality.

Within Biobío, Penco's 2025 rate is close to the regional per-capita mean. The commune sits near the midpoint of its regional distribution, indicating that its reported incidence aligns broadly with the typical level for the region.

In 2025, the leading category in Penco's reported crime profile was public-order incidents, which accounted for the largest share of total reported incidents. The second most prevalent category was crimes against persons. This composition reflects Penco's particular urban and socioeconomic characteristics. The CEAD breakdown covers seven crime families: crimes against persons, property crimes, violent robbery, public-order incidents, domestic violence, drug-related offenses, and weapons offenses. The relative weight of each category in the total rate is visible in the incidence-by-category chart above.

A useful reference point for contextualizing Penco's data is Florida (Biobío), identified as the nearest comparable commune within the same region based on reported incidence. In 2025, Florida recorded approximately 4,900.6 incidents per 100,000 inhabitants, compared with 4,883.8 for Penco. The two communes share a similar incidence tier, making the comparison informative for understanding Penco's position relative to a concrete peer rather than an abstract national average. Florida holds national rank 178 of 346.

Looking at the full CEAD time series, Penco recorded 6,463.9 incidents per 100,000 inhabitants in 2005. Since then, the reported rate has decreased, reaching 4,883.8 in 2025. The multi-year series is displayed in the sparkline chart above, which shows annual values from 2005 through 2025. The most recent year of partial data (if available) is shown at reduced opacity to indicate that the figure is not yet complete. Year-on-year fluctuations are normal and can reflect changes in recording practices, population estimates, or law enforcement priorities rather than changes in underlying behavior.

The data presented here are sourced from CEAD (Centro de Estudios y Análisis del Delito), the official Chilean body that compiles police-reported crime statistics. All figures represent reported incidents — actual incidence may differ due to under-reporting, which varies by crime type and territory. The 2025 rate of 4,883.8 incidents per 100,000 inhabitants for Penco reflects the most recent complete annual data available at the time of this publication. For more information on methodology and the rate-per-100,000 definition, see the methodology section.