Crime And Violence In Latin America

By any standard, Latin America ranks as one of the most violent regions in the world. Violent crime poses a serious threat to the relatively fragile democracies of Latin America and the Caribbean. In this volume, attorneys, government officials, policy analysts, and academics from the United States and Latin America come together to discuss the responses of the state, civil society, and the international community to this risk. The contributors focus on citizen security from a variety of perspectives. First, they examine the predominant themes of citizen security, including efforts to reform the criminal justice system, separate the police from the military, professionalize the police, establish effective police-community partnerships, create public and social policies decreasing violence, and raise money to finance such initiatives. Next, they present case studies exploring the experiences of Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Central America, and the Caribbean. In conclusion, the editors offer specific policy recommendations based on the foregoing analyses. Contributors: Carlos Basombrio, Mayra Buvinic, Paul Chevigny, Laura Chinchilla, Mauricio Duce, Adriana Loche, Anthony P. Maingot, Andrew Morrison, Paulo de Mesquita Neto, Rogelio Perez Perdomo, Michael Shifter, and Catalina Smulovitz