Tackling Urban Violence in Latin America

Reversing Exclusion through Smart Policing and Social Investment, WOLA.

The cities featured in this report have had different experiences. All, however, have pursued similar—if sometimes still nascent—crime and violence reduction strategies that give central importance to reincorporating and providing social services to marginalized communities. All are attempts to “reverse exclusion. In Rio, the state government targeted selected favelas for “pacification.” In Medellín, a mayor implemented an anti-violence strategy that brought social services to poor communities dominated by drug-funded criminal gangs. In Ciudad Juárez, a counter-drug campaign, with the Mexican military as the dominant actor, appears to have intensified infighting between drug trafficking organizations, and violence has skyrocketed. Finally, in Santa Tecla the municipal government brought together the local government, citizen organizations, the police, and state agencies to coordinate anti-violence efforts, including prevention programs.