PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic, CMC – The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) says crime and Violence hinder sustainable development and economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
The Washington-based, which is holding its 2024 annual meetings here until Sunday, noted that the region’s homicide rate is three times higher than the world average at 18 vs. 5.6 per 100,000 inhabitants.
A fact sheet released to coincide with the meetings said 50 percent of all homicides in the Americas are connected to organized crime, compared to 24 percent globally.
“This level of criminal Violence affects the lives of the region’s inhabitants, as well as its economy and institutions. It impacts people’s well-being and behaviors: 30 percent of households have suffered a crime in the past year, and 51 percent of the population reports not feeling safe, compared to 20 percent globally”
The IDB said that crime and Violence increase the cost of doing business, with one in four companies regarding crime as a “serious or severe” constraint to doing business.
“It undermines the rule of law, erodes trust in institutions, and costs the region 3.5 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) annually, taking resources away from pressing needs like education and health.”
The IDB said crime and Violence take different forms in different countries, cities, and territories, noting on average, 50 percent of crimes occur on only 2.5 percent of the street space in Latin American and Caribbean cities.
It said 54 percent of households report the presence of local criminal groups and 14 percent report that they provide services and regulate security.
“This phenomenon of criminal governance—where crime groups or networks are present and exert influence—is concentrated in areas known as fragility pockets, which have a combination of state fragility and criminal violence.”
The IDB said its comprehensive approach to crime and violence centers on working with countries on social prevention and on building the capacities of security and justice institutions.
“This approach covers a broad spectrum of crimes and types of Violence, including gender-based crimes, crimes against children and adolescents, cybercrime, human trafficking, and organized crime.
“The approach also tackles the complex interplay between state fragility and criminal violence, focusing on territories currently governed by criminal groups.”
It said regarding social prevention of Violence, this area of the bank’s work includes prevention programs to protect those most vulnerable to becoming victims or perpetrators of crime and Violence, including youth, women, children, migrants, LGBTQ people, Afro-descendants, Indigenous people, and people with disabilities.
It said these initiatives aim to mitigate risk factors by addressing the root causes of crime and Violence, especially in their most complex form – organized crime – at the individual, interpersonal, household, and community levels. They are also designed to reduce the impacts on these vulnerable populations.
“These initiatives include support for positive parenting programs, education and employment for youth at risk of becoming involved in criminal activities and organizations, and interventions to reduce youth recruitment by criminal organizations.
“Other initiatives aim to enhance the capacities and coordination of the institutions responsible for improving the design, targeting, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of these programs.”
The IDB said that amidst the continued challenge of crime and Violence, which are exacerbated by organized crime, Latin American and Caribbean countries turn to it to design and implement evidence-based solutions to prevent and strengthen institutional capacities to respond to these challenges.
The IDB’s portfolio of citizen security and justice projects for 2024 will be its most significant annual investment in technical and financial support through lending operations for this issue.
“These investments are a response to the region’s pressing and sometimes novel citizen security issues and challenges, such as organized crime, cybercrime, money laundering, youth violence, and human trafficking.”
The IDB said that for nearly two decades, it has been a pioneer among multilateral institutions in addressing the drivers and impacts of crime and Violence in Latin America and the Caribbean through knowledge generation, evidence-based technical and financial support to programs, and technical dialogue.
The IDB said it has an ambitious and comprehensive agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean to help countries effectively address crime and Violence.
“Since 2009, we have approved 36 operations totaling US$1.6 billion in 15 countries,” it said, noting, for example, that programs for youth behavior change and reintegration opportunities in Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica correlated with a drop in gang-related violent crime.
“ In Trinidad and Tobago’s eastern Port of Spain region, where the intervention was implemented, homicides fell by 55 percent, compared to 17 percent nationally, and injuries and shootings declined by 20 percent, versus a nationwide decrease of two percent.
“Jamaica also recorded a 22 percent drop in child abuse cases and a 33 percent decrease in truancy due to positive parenting interventions.
“Our evaluations in Trinidad and Tobago, El Salvador, and Colombia confirmed that these interventions that focus on behavioral change helped reduce violent crime in gang areas. In program areas in Trinidad and Tobago, injuries and shootings dropped by 60 percent. “This type of intervention is now being implemented in Brazil, Peru, and Jamaica,” the IDB said.
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