Private security in Colombia was created informally due to the increase in robberies in residential neighborhoods and rural areas of the country in the 1960s. In 1948 the capital was the epicenter of one of the worst times in the country. This sociopolitical situation led to the appearance of the first private surveillance and security companies in Colombia, motivated by citizens who only wanted to protect their lives and property from criminals.

Seguridad Privada is a document of images created in the residential complex where I lived during my childhood. This photographic essay examines and categorizes early memories of my life growing up in a lower-middle-class neighborhood in Bogota, Colombia during one of the most difficult times of social conflict in the country.