USAID Central
America Regional
Security Initiative
Latin American and
Caribbean Bureau
March 2011
November 2010
The Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI)
CARSI complements other U.S. Government citizen
safety initiatives in the Western Hemisphere
•Background
•USAID
Programs
•Prevention/
Rehab
•Justice
Sector
•Communitybased
•Local Govt
•Youth
•Evaluation
The Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI)
Key U.S. Government Citizen Safety Initiatives in
the Western Hemisphere
•Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI)
Citizen safety partnership with the 14 nations of CARICOM
plus the Dominican Republic to address the threats facing the
region.
•Central America Regional Security Initiative
Supports the nations of Central America in addressing critical
criminal threats and capacity and rule of law deficits in the region.
•Colombia Strategic Development Partnership
Supports Colombian efforts to expand state presence and
services in areas where poverty, violence and illicit crop cultivation or
narcotics trafficking have historically converged.
•Merida – Mexico
Provides assistance for law enforcement operations and
promotes the reform and professionalization of security agencies.
•Background
•USAID
Programs
•Prevention/
Rehab
•Justice
Sector
•Communitybased
•Local Govt
•Youth
•Evaluation
The Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI)
CARSI seeks to address Central America’s
citizen safety challenges by focusing resources
and assistance on five strategic “pillars”:
1.Safe Streets: Streets free of crime and violence will foster
social and economic opportunity for the citizens of Central
America.
2.Disrupt the Movement of Criminals and Contraband:
Preventing the transit of criminals and contraband to, through and
within Central America will reduce the ability of organized crime to
conduct their illicit activities and perpetuate the cycle of violence in
the region.
3.Strong, Capable and Accountable Governments:
Governments free of corruption, possessing political will and
maintaining properly trained and resourced law enforcement, rule
of law and community action programs can counter cultures of
lawlessness.
•Background
•USAID
Programs
•Prevention/
Rehab
•Justice
Sector
•Communitybased
•Local Govt
•Youth
•Evaluation
The Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI)
The five pillars of CARSI – continued
•Background
4.Effective State Presence in Communities at Risk:
•USAID
Programs
Governments must maintain law enforcement, judicial, social and
educational capacity and services to counter the activities and
influence of organized crime.
•Prevention/
Rehab
5.Enhanced Levels of Cooperation: Threats to citizen safety
•Justice
Sector
represent regional challenges, requiring the development of
coordinated action plans by Central America, Colombia, Mexico
and the Caribbean.
•Communitybased
•Local Govt
•Youth
•Evaluation
The Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI)
USAID Programs
Guatemala
Honduras
El Salvador
Nicaragua
Panamá
•Background
•USAID
Programs
•Prevention/
Rehab
•Justice
Sector
•Communitybased
•Local Govt
•Youth
•Evaluation
The Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI)
U.S. Anti-Gang Strategy
Integrated Approach:
– Justice Sector
Strengthening
– Law Enforcement
Capacity-Building
– Prevention
– Rehabilitation
•Background
•USAID
Programs
•Prevention/
Rehab
•Justice
Sector
•Communitybased
LAW ENFORCEMENT
CAPACITY-BUILDING
•Local Govt
•Youth
JUSTICE SECTOR
STRENGTHENING
PREVENTION
REHABILITATION
•Evaluation
The Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI)
Prevention/Rehabilitation
•Background
– U.S. Experience: Solid Evidence for Prevention
• Sustainable: focus on underlying factors helps
break the cycle of poverty and violence.
• Cost-effective.
• Eases pressure on prison system.
• Rehabilitation reduces risk of recidivism, builds
community cohesion.
•USAID
Programs
•Prevention/
Rehab
•Justice
Sector
•Communitybased
•Local Govt
•Youth
•Evaluation
The Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI)
Crime and Vulnerability Risk Factors
Risk factors associated with values and identity:
1) Dysfunctional families, lack of supervision in the home and high rates of domestic
violence;
2) Loss of family and social values;
3) The need for identity and belonging, low self-esteem, negative peer contact and a
lack of dreams and life plans;
4) Irresponsible sexual activity at an early age;
Risk factors associated with skills training and
employment opportunities:
5) Limited access to formal and informal education;
6) Low quality of education / teachers, high school dropout rates;
7) High unemployment among youth and a lack of skills for employment;
Risk factors associated with public policy and the
external environment:
8) Neighborhood gang presence, acceptance of a culture of violence;
9) Overcrowded neighborhoods with limited access to basic services and spaces for
recreation;
10) Consumption of drugs, drug trafficking, easy access to weapons and access to
the illicit economy;
11) Police abuse, weakness and corruption of institutions;
12) Lack of Violence Prevention Policies at the national and municipal levels and,
13) Effects of immigration and deportation.
•Background
•USAID
Programs
•Prevention/
Rehab
•Justice
Sector
•Communitybased
•Local Govt
•Youth
•Evaluation
The Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI)
Focus on the Justice Sector
•Background
– Crimes Against Life Unit and 24 Hour Courts Guatemala
– Criminal Procedure Reform - El Salvador
– Dispute Mediation Centers - El Salvador
– Juvenile Justice Reform – Central America
Focus on Law Enforcement Capacity-Building
– Community-based Policing
• Villa Nueva, Guatemala
• El Salvador
•USAID
Programs
•Prevention/
Rehab
•Justice
Sector
•Communitybased
•Local Govt
•Youth
•Evaluation
The Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI)
Focus on Community-Based Solutions
– Gangs are not the only problem.
– Entire community must be made resilient and
resistant to crime and violence.
– Youth growing up in safer communities are less
likely to face the temptation of crime and violence.
– Examples:
• Centros de Alcance “Por mi Barrio” – El
Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras
• Community-Based Crime and Violence
Prevention – El Salvador
• Community Empowerment and Transformation –
Jamaica
•Background
•USAID
Programs
•Prevention/
Rehab
•Justice
Sector
•Communitybased
•Local Govt
•Youth
•Evaluation
The Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI)
Focus on Local Government
•Background
– Long-term sustainability.
– Cultural shift, promoting official prevention policies.
– Examples:
•
Municipal Crime Prevention Plans
•
Centros de Alcance - local government buy-in
•
Community-based crime and violence prevention
El Salvador. Encourages problem-solving
between communities and local officials.
•USAID
Programs
•Prevention/
Rehab
•Justice
Sector
•Communitybased
•Local Govt
•Youth
•Evaluation
The Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI)
Focus on Youth
– Education:
• Centros de Alcance. Recreation, life skills,
and vocational training.
– Media
• OAS – Central America. Teaches at-risk youth
to create and disseminate messages against
crime, violence, and substance abuse.
– Changing Popular Attitudes:
• Desafio 10 & 100 –Guatemala. Changed
attitudes about ex-gang members.
• Youth Movements Against Violence
•Background
•USAID
Programs
•Prevention/
Rehab
•Justice
Sector
•Communitybased
•Local Govt
•Youth
•Evaluation
The Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI)
Evaluation Design
•
•
•
•
Random division of 100 similar communities
– 33 treatment and 67 control communities
– El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama
3 years – baseline, mid-point and final
Multiple methods to collect data
Vanderbilt University/LAPOP – AmericasBarometer
•Background
•USAID
Programs
•Prevention/
Rehab
•Justice
Sector
•Communitybased
•Local Govt
•Youth
Surveys
Focus
Groups
In-depth
Interviews
Hard
Data
Accurate portrayal •Evaluation
of community
conditions before
and after program
implementation