Although only 9% of the world’s population lives in Latin America and the Caribbean, the region accounts for a third of the world’s homicides. The cost of crime and violence in our region is very high: crime takes large numbers of lives, affects people’s safety and welfare, and hampers economic development. As evidence of this, one out of three people in the region say crime is … [Read more...] about To Fight Crime, Increase Trust
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Changing Public Attitudes to Combat a Crime Epidemic
With 9% of the world's population and 33% of its homicides, Latin America and the Caribbean suffers from far too much violence. But government responses, heavily focused on punitive practices like mass incarceration, have fallen short. While incarceration has increased by 76% over the last decade, the region as a whole still has more than twice the homicide rate as the world … [Read more...] about Changing Public Attitudes to Combat a Crime Epidemic
The Benefits and Drawbacks of DNA Technologies to Fight Crime
It lasts for thousands of years and can help police identify missing persons from a pile of bones or pinpoint criminals with astounding accuracy. But as police forces increasingly turn to DNA to help them solve crimes, concerned citizens in the United States have been raising alarms about issues of privacy, consent and unwarranted government intrusion into their lives. For … [Read more...] about The Benefits and Drawbacks of DNA Technologies to Fight Crime
What Can Restore Latin Americans’ Faith in Democracy
Four decades ago, people in Latin America cheered as one after another dictatorship fell and gave way to democratic systems, with free elections, uncensored expression, and increasingly independent institutions. That transition, a part of the third wave of democratization, transformed Latin America and the Caribbean from a place of oppressive military regimes into the most … [Read more...] about What Can Restore Latin Americans’ Faith in Democracy
When Anti-Crime Strategies Reflect Ignorance Rather than Knowledge
When it comes to crime, we are easily swayed by false perceptions and information. We lose our wallet to a pickpocket or hear about a mugging in our generally safe neighborhood and immediately assume that we are in the midst of a crime epidemic. We are pushed to anxiety by politicians who peddle exaggerated homicide statistics to prove they are tough on crime; by the … [Read more...] about When Anti-Crime Strategies Reflect Ignorance Rather than Knowledge