Criminal Policy and Barristerism in Colombia

The primary purpose of this paper is to encourage the reader to reflect on the results of the State's activity to combat violence in the "barras bravas". The Colombian criminal policy has focused on the exhaustive control of the behavior of the "barras bravas" and on punishing them harshly, as well as on researching information about the causes of violence, but it does not materialize social efforts aimed at eliminating them; citizens who commit criminal acts in the context of soccer hooliganism are discriminated against or even feared, and the media, administrative, police and judicial authorities and social actors publicly label hooliganism with derogatory terms such as "misfits, antisocials, hooligans", which can lead to discrimination against hooligans.