Community policing and reform, under an expert lens

Frühling has published several works on human rights, the police, and judicial reform in Latin America, including ´´Safer Streets: A study of Community policing in Latin America,´´ which analyzes the experience of four Latin American cities that have implemented community policing: Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte in Brazil, Bogota, Colombia, and Villa Nueva, Guatemala.

In addition to his research, Frühling has served as Public Security Advisor to the Ministry of the Interior, Executive Secretary and Advisor to the Coordinating Board for Public Security, and Advisor to the Ministry of the Secretary General in human rights.

In this exclusive interview, Frühling offers us his vision of police reform in Latin America and the possible paths to achieving an effective model for community policing.

What are the main limits, challenges, and successes of police reform in Latin America?

In my opinion we should first clarify what we mean by ´reform.´ If we understand reform as a permanent change in the process of selection, training, management, and the respect for human rights within the police force, I think we are seeing some progress. However this progress has not been consistent across the region; several countries, such as Colombia, Chile, El Salvador, and certain areas of Brazil, have achieved important advances in recent years, while others have experienced more limited success. The issue is on the public agenda of all countries in the region, but a serious evaluation of the results has yet to be carried out.

In your opinion, what have been the most successful police reforms in Latin America and why?

No reform has been entirely and thoroughly successful, however there has been significant progress. Consider the following cases:

-El Salvador has successfully created a new police force from the ashes internal conflict, though the specific circumstances which gave way to this process cannot be replicated.

-In Colombia the support of the population has greatly increased but the ongoing conflict still a threat to progress towards more humane policing.

-In Chile, the Carabineros (Chilean Police) have launched a new plan of management, taking into account the availability of and demand for police services in the interests of most adequately addressing the needs of the population.

-Finally in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, there has been progress towards a model of unified management that includes all of the diverse components of the penal justice system.

Studying and comparing these examples would serve to benefit all communities. On the other hand there are also police forces with very rudimentary levels of institutionalization and high rates of internal corruption, conditions which make the implementation of partial reforms extremely difficult.

Is it difficult to compare the cases of police reform in different Latin American cities?

One can assess their similarities and differences. The challenge is really to define the criteria of the comparison, for example: the process by which personnel is selected, characteristics of the internal disciplinary system (civil or military), training, the governmental body responsible for each specific police force, functions, etc.

Is it possible to identify points of similarity between the Carabineros in Chile and the police forces of Bogota and Cali, for example?

Without going into too much detail, I would say that there are two main differences between the situation in Chile and that of the two Colombian cities you mentioned. The Carabineros in Chile constitute a centralized police force that is in no way subordinate to the mayor. This is not the case in Colombia. So you can indeed make this comparison but bear in mind that there are some significant institutional differences.

What is fundamental for achieving an effective model of community policing?

In my opinion, some of the crucial elements of this kind of program are: the need to clearly define the internal changes to be made according to a pilot plan and assess the resources and possibilities for the project’s expansion. In many Latin American countries, these programs are unable to progress beyond the initial stages due to a lack of resources.

What other elements would you emphasize?

Promotion of the plan within the police force, especially to officers of lower rank who tend to resist this kind of reform, clearly defined objectives and goals of the program, officers trained in conflict resolution and familiarization with local committees that could potentially work with the police, a clear definition of the criteria by which the program’s success can be evaluated.

In Brazil, we have had several successful cases of community policing, for example in Belo Horizonte. On the other hand, the government has lost control over organized crime. Can local action be effective in toppling this pyramid or does this kind of structure require other strategies?

In the case of organized crime, I think the most important tool is police intelligence and the imprisonment of the key leaders involved. Undoubtedly closer relations with neighbors will increase the base of information available to the police, but local police programs will encounter great difficulty trying to tackle alone a problem of this magnitude in which territorial control has fallen into the hands of organized gangs.

What can be done?

I don’t have a clear answer, but I believe that the development of community policing programs is easier in places where citizens feel free to participate and express their own opinions and critiques.

Translated by Emily L. Reiser