Criminality, Public Security, and the Challenge to Democracy in Latin America

Introduction: Criminality and Citizen Security in Latin America

Introduction Criminality and Citizen Security in Latin America mar cel o ber gman & laur ence whitehead Among the most striking developments in Latin America in recent years have been the dramatic rise in reported criminality and changing perceptions of crime, even as new democratic regimes have taken root. It seems that over the last fifteen years, homicides have more than doubled in some places, and property crime has (at times) tripled. There are major differences within and between Latin American countries, but this crime surge is a regional phenomenon. Juvenile gangs have become much more visible and threatening, and drug-related crime has captured the headlines as never before. Shocking forms of violence have generated widespread public alarm and insecurity, prompting citizen demands for state intervention. Indeed, voters in most of these recently democratized countries are coming to view crime and citizen insecurity as central issues of political concern, and are beginning to evaluate their political leaders accordingly. This can lower public confidence in state institutions (especially the justice system) and can weaken support for the 1 human rights standards that emerged in the course of the struggle for democratization . It may even allow authoritarian practices to return under the guise of mano dura policies purporting to correct weaknesses in the democratic approach to crime control. Why has the increase in crime become such a salient political issue in the region? Why are police and courts so ineffectual in most Latin American countries? What can we expect from the judicial and penal reforms currently underway? How have the failings of crime fighting institutions affected the quality of incipient democracy in the region? Can the rule of law work with such constraints in place? Despite these important social and political questions, there is a surprising scarcity of academic research on the subject. There are few studies that engage in an in-depth analysis of the rise in criminal activity and thus often drastic deterioration in perceptions of public security. More importantly, scholars have not yet produced sound research to support proposals on how state authorities— which lack the necessary credibility among citizens—can forge a set of institutional responses to rising crime. The chapters in this book examine the perceived and actual rise in criminality from an empirical perspective. The contributors also address the impact of rising crime rates on the quality of institutional performance in Latin America, and the challenges that crime fighting pose to the consolidation of democracy and the rule of law in the region. The book addresses three critical aspects of the problem: it documents empirically new trends in criminality; it analyzes major components of the criminal justice system in the region; and it exposes the strengths and weaknesses of Latin American democracies in their attempts to combat the surge in crime. CRIMINALITY AND CITIZEN SECURITY: ALTERNATIVE SCHOLARSHIP Most of the literature on crime and institutional responses to it in Latin America has emerged from the legal area, so the focus tends to be normative , lacks rigorous empirical backing, and does not often study how new laws work in practice. The collection of data on crime and crime-related statistics in most countries is recent. The aim of this book, a result of a project initiated in 2002, is twofold: to examine crime using the new em2 Marcelo Bergman & Laurence Whitehead Introduction 3 pirical data that is available, and to examine the impact of crime on democratization and the rule of law in Latin America. Prominent scholars from different Latin American countries experiencing similar patterns of criminality and erratic state responses, analyze the issue from a strongly empirical comparative perspective, offering the “state of the art” in what is an incipient field of study in the region. The contributors describe the trends and scope of crime in Latin America empirically, taking into account recent, rigorous social science analyses of the problem. Chapters are based on the most up-to-date data and literature to explain criminal trends in specific geographical areas and contribute substantially to current debates. The empirical and regional comparative focus bypasses the lack of perspective and sensationalism typical of a more parochial coverage of the topic (the kind that leads people in various Latin American countries to claim that “we have the highest homicide rate in the world”). Some chapters refer to alternative explanations given for the crime wave in the region, such as the breakdown of social networks and of the extended...