Overview

• Despite strict police and judicial reforms, Central America’s violent Northern Triangle is still menaced by drug trafficking, corruption, drug trafficking, and gang violence.
• According to 2015 investigations by Honduran newspaper La Prensa, an estimated $261 million is lost by Salvadorans and Hondurans to annual extortion fees to organized crime groups.
• According to a report by the World Bank on Crime and Violence in Central America, systematic loopholes in policing encourage diversion of criminal justice resources or corruption of the criminal justice system itself.
• Drug trafficking, organized youth gangs, availability of firearms are key drivers of crime in Central America.
•  Youth inactivity and unemployment are associated with a higher probability of youth engaging in risky behavior, including crime and violence.
•  World Bank suggests alternative dispute resolution, education, poverty reduction, and youth development as some strategies to lower crime in Central America.

Technologies and Systems for Crime Prevention

• Statistics show that surveillance cameras have helped police reduce crime in Guatemala City.
• Sectors under video camera surveillance have realized about a 40% decline in violence rates.
• A report by Poverty Action proposes that the crime situation in Central America and Mexico can be managed through a system similar to the Strategic Decision Support Centers (SDSCs).
• The SDSCs are equipped with a suite of technology resources, including gunshot detection sensors, a network of surveillance cameras, and predictive policing software that identifies the blocks where gun violence is most likely to occur.
• Research indicates that internet penetration and mobile use among people in the Central America region presents an opportunity for digital crime prevention efforts.