http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/site/index/ en U.S. Department of State 2012-05-21T19:01:39+00:00 Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) is working to shore up institutions and restore citizen security through programs aimed at improving the police, lawyers, courts and prisons. While change is slow to take hold, we are seeing improvements.

For example, the Department of State launched a program in Lourdes, El Salvador to turn the tide in one of El Salvador's most crime-ridden communities. The goals of the Model Precinct Program include reducing gang-related crime and violence by identifying and implementing regional and international best practices. In 2011, crime in Lourdes dropped by forty percent after two years of mentoring, vetting, training, and equipping police, as well as gang education and prevention programs in schools. Citizens in Lourdes are seeing their personal security improve and are building better relationships with the police helping to bring about change in their communities.

In Panama, we have seen increased police accountability and improved public perceptions of the police due at least in part to our programs. We worked with the Panamanian National Police (PNP) to start Central America's first modern computer statistics program (COMPSTAT). COMPSTAT is a computer program designed to collect and map crime statistics, as well as police responses. This system has increased personal accountability in Panama at all levels of the law enforcement system. This is the latest in a series of INL-supported PNP reforms, leading to a nearly ten percent increase in public opinion of the police since 2008.

The successful work with the police in Panama led to the development of a Regional Police Systems Reform Initiative, which aims to improve police capabilities across Central America. The Initiative focuses on the reform of entire police systems and the injection of modern police philosophies in the areas of Community Policing, COMPSTAT, Internal Affairs, and Police Academies. This program uses a unified team approach with U.S. law enforcement experts and police practitioners from the Colombian and Panamanian National Police forces. Through our collaborative, multi-national approach, we are not only leveraging resources, but also strengthening the long-term sustainability of our collective police reform efforts.

Local programs and ownership are vital to success in crime reduction programs, as evidenced in a number of initiatives throughout the region. In the small country of Belize, for example, the government has implemented a new strategy for public security called "RESTORE Belize" to tackle rising gang crime. This program focuses on community outreach, rehabilitation, and education, as well as a negotiated gang truce in neighborhoods experiencing high-levels of inter-gang violence. INL is working with the community to maintain the truce and to curb enrollment in gangs through the Gang Resistance and Education (GREAT) Program, which is built around school-based, law enforcement officer-instructed classroom curricula. This program has trained 135 police officers as trainers throughout Central America, reached over 10,000 students regionally thus far. The GREAT Program expects to reach 12,000 students in 2012.

The citizens of Central America are demanding safer streets and stronger institutions. INL programs are designed to support their needs and work towards a more secure Central America. Through our joint efforts with local communities, the governments of the region, and outside assistance, we are collaboratively tackling crime one step at a time.]]> http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entires/inl_central_america/ 2012-03-13T20:08:20+00:00