Public Security

After the initial excitement generated by the implementation of the Pacification Police Units (UPP) in some of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas that had previously been dominated by drug gangs, we are now beginning to consolidate the first lessons of an ongoing process of adjustments and improvements. Colonel Robson Rodrigues, UPP commander, confirms this.

"War is known to begin in the minds of men and women and so it is in the minds of these men and women that it needs to be tackled." With this belief, Professor Swaran Singh, chairperson of Centre for International Politics, Organisation and Disarmament (CIPOD) at the School of International Studies (SIS) at Jawaharlal Nehru University (New Delhi) has dedicated his academic career to teaching peace and conflict resolution studies.

After registering a murder rate of 381 per 100,000 inhabitants in 1991 (three times the current homicide rate in Ciudad Juarez, the most violent in the world today) Medellin managed to dramatically turn itself around through social investment and a recovery program backed by the national government: by 2004 the city reached a historically low homicide rate of 24 per 100,000 inhabitants', lower than cities like Washington, DC. But a spike in violence rates in recent years has revived fears that violence could return to the levels of two decades ago. 
Sociologist Ivan Ramirez offers his view of the city's current situation

In the United Kingdom, as many as 75 percent of juvenile delinquents re-offend within two years of being released from prison. This costs British taxpayers an estimated 11 billion British Pounds per year, and keeps nearly 2,000 young people behind bars. Mark Johnson, founder of User Voice, aims to reduce that trend by "...giving offenders a voice in designing the system, and [being] heard at policy level."

In an interview with Comunidade Segura, attorney Moema Salgado, coordinator of Viva Rio's Interpersonal Conflict Mediation program in Haiti, talks about the importance of community participation in conflict mediation. She says conflict mediation is about "…enhancing dialogue, encouraging participation, and strengthening community ties. "

In El Salvador, the new National Observatory on Violence and Crime, OBNAVID, will establish a data collection system to make detailed maps of violence nationwide. The systematization of information is expected to lead to more efficient crime-prevention programs. The president of the National Council for Public Security of El Salvador, Aida Luz Santos, spoke with Comunidade Segura.

Colombia's Fundación Artística y Social la Família Ayara have transformed violent communities into vibrant, creative spaces. These young people have opened important spaces for citizen participation in various cities, but they also face threats from violent groups, who recently killed several of its members. Diana Ortega, one of the daughters of Family Ayara, speaks about this Colombian hip-hop family.

In the heart of the Argentine Patagonia, the Neuquén provincial police force has been professionalizing its operations in ways that go far beyond the typical work of criminal punishment and that focus on prevention. The chief of Information Technology and Telecommunications for the Neuquén police, sub-commissioner Rubems Fabián Rebuffo, discusses this transformation.

In his brief trip to Brazil, Peter Tarlow was hardly a tourist with a day trip mentality. This resourceful man and engaging speaker, ready to switch into Portuguese or Spanish to the convenience of his hosts, discussed the basic tenets of tourism security in a city that will host major international events every year starting in 2011, among them the world cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016.

During his career in Rio's Military Police, Col. Jorge da Silva was an
active fighter in the war on drugs, until he realized it was a futile
effort. Born in Complexo do Alemão, today the colonel has turned to academia. He spoke with Comunidade Segura about the consequences of prohibitionist policies and operations like the recent police invasion of his former community.