Citizen Security in Latin America and the Caribbean: Challenges and Innovation in Management and Public Policies Over the Last 10 Years

Abstract

In the last decade, Latin American and Caribbean governments have advanced toward a systemic management of the citizen security and justice issues, integrating strategies of crime and violence prevention and control, the application of justice, and social rehabilitation. The region has moved from reactive and punitive approaches to the design and implementation of comprehensive models focused on human rights and multisectoral coordination. Likewise, security institutions have been decentralized to incorporate multiple institutional and social actors at the different government levels. In addition, in terms of public policies, the governments have proposed a range of tools for management by results, coordination, planning, financing, and evaluation of programs. Unfortunately, conceptual and doctrinal advances have not been incorporated with the necessary speed to address the high levels of crime and violence faced by the region. The four main institutional challenges to citizen security are: (i) comprehensiveness, (ii) multisectoriality, (iii) rigorousness, and (iv) sustainability and scalability. The document proposes 10 actions to accelerate the transformation of the security governance.