Training of agents reduces police abuses

The study was carried out in Argentina, where the use of firearms was reduced by 70 percent among the agents that participated in a training program regarding the use of force and firearms. 

The impact evaluation Capacitación, precepción de riesgo y actuación policial (Training, perception of risk, and police actions), carried out by CAF, Development Bank of Latin America jointly with the Centro de Entrenamiento y Doctrina Policial (Training and Police Doctrine Center), showed that a year after starting the training, the use of firearms and registered abuses by police agents was significantly reduced. Diego Jorrat, CAF Researcher, states that the result is due to the training which focused on "eliminating the myth that police interventions are achieved only through the use of firearms".

In the case of the police of Buenos Aires, during 2013 episodes were registered regarding abuse of force by police agents where citizens and police members were affected. As a result, the Ministry of Security of Argentina created a training program with the objective of improving police actions. 

These measures are taking place in a context where trust on the police force runs below 20 percent in cities like Buenos Aires, Lima, La Paz, and Caracas, according to data form the 2013 ECAF, an annual survey carried out by CAF. 

In a scenario like this, the police looses legitimacy, and it reduces the control and pressure that society must place on the citizen security institutions, as shown in the conclusions of the research paper "Por una América Latina más segura"(For a Safer Latin America). The document further states that public security services tend to worsen, creating more distrust.