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Caldera

High incidence Population: 19,964
8,790
Rate per 100,000 inhabitants (2025)
More reported crime than 95%
of Chile's communes
CEAD 2025 · #16 of 346 · 1 = most reported incidence
More reported crime than 89%
of communes in Atacama
CEAD 2025 · #1 of 9 · 1 = most reported incidence

Annual evolution (2005–present)

Declining
51% above national average
35% above regional average

Reported incidence by crime category (2025)

Life crimes 2199
Property crimes 2029
Violent robbery 239
Disorder 2912
Domestic violence 1107
Drug crimes 165
Weapons 140

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)

5 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)

34 Very High
#36 of 346 nationally · #2 in Atacama
Composite of reported crimes (CEAD/SPD), adjusted for SII economic activity. Does not reflect unreported crime. Reference year: 2024.

No INE ENUSC victimization estimate available for this comuna (SAE model covers 136 of 346 comunas).

Comparable commune (same region)

Diego de Almagro Atacama
7,171 per 100k inh. #42 of 346 Declining

View on Map

See Caldera on the interactive Chile crime map →

Similar Communes in This Region

Communes in Atacama with similar reported CEAD incidence rates:

Commune Rate per 100k
National rank Trend
Diego de Almagro 7,171 #42 Declining
Chañaral 6,183 #81 Declining
Huasco 6,043 #96 Declining
Vallenar 5,986 #105 Declining
Tierra Amarilla 5,865 #109 Declining

Glossary

Rankings by Crime Type

Caldera (Atacama region) carries a high level of reported incidence — rank 16 of 346 communes nationally — but CEAD data reveal a declining trend that has been consistent over recent years. The 2025 figure reached 8,789.9 incidents per 100,000 inhabitants.

Caldera is one of the communes that make up the Atacama region. Within the region, it holds regional rank 1, 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.

Relative to the national average computed across non-low-population communes, Caldera is considerably above average: the 2025 rate of 8,789.9 per 100,000 inhabitants exceeds the national mean by approximately 51%. This comparison is calculated against the per-capita mean of participating communes, providing a meaningful benchmark of relative incidence.

Within Atacama, Caldera registers reported incidence moderately above the regional per-capita mean — roughly 35% higher in 2025. The commune's position within its region reflects both absolute incidence levels and the distribution of reported activity across other Atacama communes.

In 2025, the leading category in Caldera'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 Caldera'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 Caldera's data is Diego de Almagro (Atacama), identified as the nearest comparable commune within the same region based on reported incidence. In 2025, Diego de Almagro recorded approximately 7,170.8 incidents per 100,000 inhabitants, compared with 8,789.9 for Caldera. The two communes share a similar incidence tier, making the comparison informative for understanding Caldera's position relative to a concrete peer rather than an abstract national average. Diego de Almagro holds national rank 42 of 346.

Looking at the full CEAD time series, Caldera recorded 11,295.4 incidents per 100,000 inhabitants in 2005. Since then, the reported rate has decreased, reaching 8,789.9 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 8,789.9 incidents per 100,000 inhabitants for Caldera 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.