The Americas need smart security

In the Americas, there are multiple threats to our national security and our citizens. As crime and the perception of crime increases, so does the cost of doing business, hindering economic growth and political stability at an enormous cost to development. I am not going to get into the litany of statistics that prove this point, but, needless to say, the Americas are too often a global leader and for the wrong reasons.

The solution to the problems of insecurity in the Americas is not necessarily more security (police, troops, equipment, anti-crime legislation or arrests). Rather, we need to focus on better, or what I call smart, security. This entails:

• An objective, evidence-based diagnosis and real observatories of the problems we face
• Creation of solutions that are based on national and regional needs and capabilities, implemented in alliance with all relevant actors
• A multidimensional and multistakeholder focus ensuring long-term systematic problem-solving
• A rigorous evaluation of the indicators and results

Take law enforcement for example. We too often use indicators that unduly influence behaviours and policy formulation. It is not just a question of how many police you have per 100,000 of the population, but what kind of police. In one case – not to be replicated – we were able to determine that of 15,000 police officers on the payroll, only about 8,000 were actually operating as police. The rest were either patronage appointments or senior police officers drawing two or three salaries to earn a decent living.

Yet there are documented models of professional law enforcement institutions, with proper standards and structure, well recruited, well trained and certified, with remuneration that is commensurate to the risk and vocation.

Not surprisingly, the results show that these models are far more likely to have a positive relationship with the community, solve more crimes, and, in general, reduce the perception of insecurity and impunity at a relatively modest cost.

Author: Adam Blackwell is Secretary of Multidimensional Security at the Organization of American States (OAS) and will be participating in the World Economic Forum on Latin America 2013

 Image: Police officers participate in a parade  in Montevideo REUTERS/Andres Stapff