Criminality and misguided security policies: an overview of Latin America after the Cold War

Abstract

In Latin America, crime has become a relevant issue since the end of the Cold War. The increased attention on the phenomena, however, has not been followed by a reduction of its incidence and by an effective treatment. The inconsistencies and failures to deal with crime would have been related to the very quality of public security policies. In that sense, the article questions whether these policies have been misguided both in their bases and in their modes of action against criminality. Therefore, we first analyze the theoretical and cognitive principles of security policies in the face of crime. Secondly, we analyze the responses and transformations of these policies in Latin America. The conclusions draw the historical, political and social nature of the limitations and features that the security policies have had against crime, confirming that policy mismatches have also contributed to the expansion of criminality during the last decades.