Safety Audits in Medellin: a good practice of criminal analysis in Latin America

Bogota, November 16, 2016. The Foundation Paz Ciudadana (Public Policies, Security and Justice), the Motorola Foundation and the International Association of Crime Analysts acknowledged the Mayor of Medellin and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime- UNODC - in Colombia, for the implementation of the methodology of Security Audits within the framework of the formulation of the Public Policy of Security and Coexistence of the city of Medellin.

The initiative led by the Area of ​​Crime Prevention and Justice-UNODC-PROJUST together with the Mayor of Medellin was presented in March for evaluation of academic peers. After a detailed analysis, the experience in Medellin was selected as one of the good practices of criminal analysis of Latin America in 2016, in the category of local governments.

The implementation of the methodology in Medellin was developed by UNODC in alliance with the Mayor of the city in 4 phases from 2012 to 2014. The process began with the implementation of Safety Audits, which allowed improving the methodology and provided inputs under a participatory mechanism. The entire process ended with the successful approval of a Public Policy on Security and Coexistence for 10 years for the city ensuring a long-term public policy, first experience with this focus in Latin America.

The experience showed positive results and opens the opportunity to be replicated in national and international territories. The document guides local governments in order to take informed decisions, as well as offers technical assistance on security matters to prevent crime.

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