Guadalupe Aguirre
Coordinadora del área de género
For a number of years now insecurity has been among the main social concerns in most countries in the region. Disparate and growing urbanization processes created the conditions for new forms of informal and illegal economies growing alongside territorial delinquency and crimes with high social impact: patent, predatory and aspirational crimes, as well as the appearance of expanding illegal markets and economies.
42 of the 50 most violent cities in the world are in our region, as well as 14 of the 25 countries with the highest rates of femicide and where, despite only having 8% of the world's population, 33% of the homicides on the planet occur. In the final decades of the twentieth century there was an increase in "common" crimes, especially in public spaces. This was accompanied by a feeling of insecurity, which is the worry, fear and anguish brought about by the chance that one could be the victim of a crime, which in turn can alter one's daily behaviors.
Crime and violence have a major negative impact on development. Insecurity is a form of social, political and economic exclusion, due to its high tangible and intangible, costs, both direct and indirect. It is estimated that countries in the region invest 3.5% of GDP in security and justice services on average, almost double that of central American countries. In addition, crime, violence and fear of crime restrict peoples mobility and the activities they decide to engage in, while worsening inequality conditions by affecting more vulnerable areas and social groups, in particular young people and women.
Although it was traditionally central governments that were responsible for responding to insecurity, local governments were assuming greater and greater roles and duties when faced with citizens' demands for better security conditions. Municipalities have the advantage of proximity and knowledge regarding citizen’s daily problems, as well as local manifestations of insecurity, allowing them to intervene more directly and quickly, while better allocating available resources to specific problems.
To the extent that local governments understand that insecurity and fear of crime are complex, multicausal phenomena, with varying scopes and characteristics, and that they particularly affect the most vulnerable groups, especially women, girls and diversities, they will be in a position to direct their approach, make decisions that respond to the concerns and demands of neighbors and to integrate security into their urban development policies.
They face a number of challenges for these reasons. Mayors should assume leadership and political direction of the local security system, through crime prevention and control strategies, working to create safer and fear-free public spaces, with proper lighting, as well as improvements to parks and squares, through the installation of video surveillance systems and community alarms, along with neighborhood control and surveillance actions, or through the deployment of urban security guards. They should also act on the social and cultural processes that lead to the conditions that encourage criminal activities, implementing medium and long-term preventive interventions; and ensure that mechanisms are put in place to strengthen the community as a key security actor, calling on it to participate in the design, implementation and evaluation of security initiatives. Intervention planning must be based on a rigorous diagnosis and analysis that takes into account the impact on the territory in question.
The municipal security issue knowledge agenda should be strengthened by providing soth useful information on new criminal investigation and analysis methodologies and techniques, as well as appropriately designing information management systems that produce accurate and quality diagnoses, allowing for effective policy interventions. In Córdoba, Argentina, CAF has supported the implementation of a crime visualization and prediction board in its capital city, in order to control and prevent the most common crimes in public spaces, such as robberies, thefts and invasions of homes and stores. And in Brazil, through the Fortaleza, city with a future program in the city of that name in northern Brazil, urban requalification is promoted from a security perspective. An integrated security management system based on video monitoring is being developed, along with a careful analysis of the governance required for it to properly function, together with actions being taken to prevent primary violence and crime.
And last but not least, the gender approach must be broad ranging in urban security policies. Experiences of crime, violence and fear of crime differ among men, women and minorities. While men are the majority victims of homicides by strangers (generally linked to criminal situations), interpersonal violence and homicide, harassment and abuse are often linked to gender-related factors. Women fear men and avoid places where they could cross paths with "dangerous or threatening" strangers; as well as places where violence is said to lurk, such as certain streets, passages or tunnels, train platforms, or poorly lit sidewalks, particularly at night.
CAF supports cities in the region looking to strengthen their security capabilities. Citizen security is a necessary condition for human development, and local governments today occupy a central place in the management approaches being taken. Leadership from mayors is essential in creating safer cities that allow their inhabitants to exercise their freedom and civic rights, not fearing for their personal integrity and being able to freely enjoy their own property.
