Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has shown progress in many socioeconomic areas in the last decade. Between 2004 and 2014, most countries in the region experienced annual growth rates close to 4 percent, poverty rates decreased, and LAC citizens became healthier and better educated. In fact, the Millennium Development Goal of halving, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people living on less than US$1.25 a day was attained in LAC in 2008, seven years early.

In contrast to these positive developments, however, crime in the region has increased. LAC continues to be the most violent region on earth, and the World Health Organization has deemed crime and violence in the region to be at epidemic levels. Despite the seriousness of the problem, though, the costs that crime and violence impose on the region have only recently received systematic attention. The contributions to this volume respond to this concern, presenting consistent evidence on the costs of crime and violence across 17 of the region’s countries.