Latin America's economic rise may be undercut by violence

Ultimately, Costa suggests that the best indicator of security is a functioning judicial system and well-established rule of law. One of the most commonly prescribed aspects of judicial reform in the region is police reform. As InSight Crime has documented, governments in Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, Argentina, Peru, Colombia and many other Latin American countries have pledged to purge corruption from within the ranks of their respective police forces in recent years. However, this is easier said than done. Despite the reform efforts, negative perceptions of police throughout the region have remained relatively unchanged over the last 10 years, with roughly two thirds of citizens in Latin America expressing a lack of faith in the police. Considering the high level of victimization, however (roughly one third of Latin Americans reported being robbed, assaulted or otherwise targeted by criminals in 2010), this is hardly surprising.

If the region is to match its rising economic profile with security improvements, Latin American governments will have to work hard to professionalize their police forces and build the capacity of judges and prosecutors. As the ongoing efforts of the United Nations-backed Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) illustrate, this process takes years, and often requires international assistance, two factors which may be unpopular domestically. As such, many governments in the region are turning to militarized, “mano dura” (iron fist) approaches, promising to cut crime rates through sheer force. As InSight Crime has reported, however, such strategies are risky, and may be just as dangerous to the development of democratic institutions as organized crime itself.

– Geoffrey Ramsey is a writer for Insight – Organized Crime in the Americas, which provides research, analysis, and investigation of the criminal world throughout the region. Find all of his research  here.

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