CAF promotes innovation to improve urban security

With the purpose of generating ideas and inputs to reinforce urban security policies in Latin America, CAF promoted a forum to exchange experiences on the latest innovations in the field between mayors and national and municipal officials of Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Uruguay, Ecuador and Mexico. The event focused on analyzing the experience of CAF’s Public Safety loan to Argentina’s Ministry of Security, which helped strengthen the video surveillance, communication and information network for crime prevention and control in the cities of Quilmes, La Quiaca, Santa Fe, Victoria, Lanús and Tres de Febrero.

Latin America currently houses 42 of the 50 most violent cities in the world, according to data published by the Citizens Council for Public Safety and Criminal Justice (CCSPJP). This indicator shows the importance of the issue and the need to consider urban security as a priority policy that must be advanced by all tiers of government. Lack of security is not only a function of the number of crimes but also the activities that the public refrains from performing as a result of this problem. Fear is an important factor in social exclusion, as it prevents access to opportunities that cities offer and makes it difficult to fully exercise citizen rights, especially for the most vulnerable groups and particularly young people and women.

“CAF has nearly 50 years of experience as a development bank in Latin America, and has been advancing a very active agenda on sustainable development, water management, education, cities with a future, e-government, and – starting in Argentina – urban security issues. The latter is currently at the heart of public policies of any national or subnational government. We have witnessed that any security policy needs to address not only crime issues but also urban and social policy, in order to address the issue with a comprehensive approach and make city residents feel safer”, said Santiago Rojas, CAF representative in Argentina.

In addition, Patricia Bullrich, Argentina’s Minister of Security, thanked CAF for its cooperation, because “it has interpreted the nation’s needs” and has provided “advice, monitoring and financing to these major projects.” In closing, he pointed out: “We have to work together because our cities are not only very similar and we have a chance to share a significant amount of experiences, but also because the advancement of technology needs to be matched by advances in political, judicial and law-enforcement institutions.”

During the first day of discussions, a roundtable was held to introduce the participants and then tour monitoring and video surveillance stations in the cities of Lanús and Tres de Febrero, which included a conversation with mayor Diego Valenzuela.

“Based on the surveys, we know that a good number of women refrain from leaving their homes, or choose not to join the labor market, for fear of using public roads to commute at certain times of the day or waiting for a bus in an unsafe neighborhood. Urban security is a very important factor for sustainable development of cities, as a pre-requisite for leveraging job, education, recreation and leisure opportunities that cities offer,” explained Jorge Concha, Director of Analysis and Technical Evaluation for Sustainable Development at CAF, during the opening session of the second day. Later on, Alberto Fohring, Secretary of Coordination, Training and Careers at Argentina’s Ministry of Security, noted: “In four years, we have captured around 10,000 fugitives. This was partly due to video surveillance in subways, bus stations, and other locations. Technology and trained staff are a necessary combination to effectively reduce crime.”

The debates continued in panels on Technology for crime prevention and control; Information, Knowledge and Urban Security; with specialists from Brazil, Mexico, Ecuador and Argentina. Sebastián Abbatemarco, Director of Sustainable Development Projects for the Southern Region at CAF, opened the second session of the day and stated that “CAF’s vision on security prioritizes an urban policy approach. Accordingly, we are convinced that all our agendas of the Vice Presidency of Sustainable Development, that is, our Water, Education, Urban Development and Nutrition agendas, are instrumental to building safer cities, mainly because of their contribution to social inclusion and the link between this issue and urban security.”

A conversation with local authorities followed, which brought together Jorge Muñoz Wells, Metropolitan Mayor of Lima, Peru; Orlando Morando Junior, Mayor of Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil; Luis Torre Aliyán, Second Officer of the City Council of Ciudad Victoria, Mexico; and Enrique Antía Behrens, Mayor of Maldonado, Uruguay. Muñoz Wells said that CAF contributes to urban security policies based on the “city development” approach: “It is not just about the use of technology; it is about public safety, transport, addressing the lack of water, and thus advancing better quality of life for residents.” Morando Junior summarized the presentations: “We all understand that violence is not only fought with weapons and men, and that is why when CAF finances infrastructure projects, and even environmental projects, it opens a door for social inclusion policies and that implies education, training and crime prevention.”

In an effort to advance initiatives to address this issue innovatively, CAF has set out to strengthen the security approach for more inclusive and productive urban development, under the multidimensional and integrated approach of its Cities with a Future initiative, which understands this problem from the perspective of improving access to cities’ opportunities for their residents.