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Colombia es uno de los dos países en América Latina a los cuales el Departamento de Estado de Estados Unidos ha clasificado en su Categoría 1 en la Trata de Personas. Dicha categoría incluye a todos aquellos países que han trabajado proactiva y eficazmente en pro de prevenir, proteger y perseguir a las víctimas y victimarios del delito de trata de personas. En ese proceso, la Fiscalía General de la Nación ha emprendido políticas de persecución a organizaciones criminales transnacionales que mediante engaños atraen individuos en situación de riesgo para explotar de ellos económicamente. “Eso es cuento” busca concientizar a la ciudadanía acerca de los métodos comúnmente utilizados para engañar a las víctimas, de forma que exista un ambiente de escepticismo a dichas propuestas sorpresivamente generosas. Asimismo, eleva la problemática de la Trata de Personas a un lugar mayor en donde los ciudadanos tengan presente la existencia y cercanía de este flagelo en su vida cotidiana.

Sports create a sense of brotherhood, trust and empowerment for those who are in it. In poor and segregated communities, is often sports and sports events the cohesive factors needed to bring the community together in a peaceful fashion. Even more, sports help at-risk youth to invest their free time in activities that not only keep them away from illegality but also develop their bodies and minds to reach a new level of performance. Acknowledging these characteristics, The United Nations office on Drugs and Crime has launched a youth crime prevention program that seeks to support the implementation of the Doha Declaration. This program focuses on the positive aspects and externalities of sports to encourage states to implement it in vulnerable communities. “Line Up, Live Up” is the pioneer program on this effort after being backed by the government of Kyrgyzstan.

In this brief article, Robert Muggah and Ilona Szabó de Carvalho hint at some of the politics that led to the decrease of homicide in São Paulo from 52.5 per 100.000 in 1999 to 6.1 per 100.000 today. The renovation of the São Paulo state’s police that included the intensive use of data and technological tools opened the door for incorporation of hot spot and community policing strategies in the agency. Also, community-oriented policies planned from a public health perspective targeted the habits/conditions that were seen to trigger violence, such as the consumption and expend of alcohol at late night and the easy access to firearms. While police brutality is still a problem in the state, the reforms also included a process of culture change on what it means to be a police officer.

Trinidad and Tobago has seen its public security deteriorate as the epidemic of violence in Latin America spreads from country to country. This violence is the result of the easy access to firearms and the segregation/exclusion of young men from the society, which translates in the formation of highly territorial gangs. With these conditions, Trinidad and Tobago counted more than 100 gangs and a tenth place on global murder rates in 2016. To tackle this issue the government partnered with the US State Department and the Pan American Development Foundation to create the “Resistance and Prevention Program” (RAPP), which is also present in the Bahamas and Suriname. The RAPP program builds trust between communities and law enforcement agencies through dialogues, community policing and outreach programs. It has brought a whole government approach, where different institution share information and don’t duplicate information. Through efficiency and comprehensiveness the program provides the tools to schools, families, social workers and law enforcement officers for the common reconstruction of the social fabric and harmony in the communities.

Military intervention in urban areas are seen as a positive measure often because of the negative opinion citizens have on their police departments. Cases of corruption and even extrajudicial executions alienate people from police officers and create an atmosphere of mistrust in which crime thrives. Military personnel on the other hand enjoy of a generally good perception by the public because of the patriotic service they dive to their nation. However, it is evident for the public that a long lasting solution for the problems of their city’s crime and violence situation is not the constant presence of the armed forces in the streets. A survey conducted by InSight Crime confirms this idea through the data collected in present Rio de Janeiro where a militaristic approach has been used to combat crime.