(infosurhoy) The Panamanian government is implementing the US$37-million National Public Safety Strategy, a security initiative that focuses on prevention and improved coordination among law enforcement agencies to lower the homicide rate and spread of gangs.
The strategy, which is funded by the European Union through 2017, is based on increased training for employees of the ministries of Security, Education, Social Development and Labor, as well as the National Police. Officers are trained how to improve communication among law enforcement agencies, stage interventions with families in need and prevent juveniles from turning to drugs and alcohol, especially those living in high-crime areas.
The plan also seeks to modernize the country’s prison system, expedite trials and improve the social reintegration of prisoners in a country that has a 60% rate of recidivism among a prison population of 14,626, according to the country’s General Directorate of the Prison System.
The immediate goal is to lower the homicide rate to 15 for every 100,000 inhabitants by 2015, while also reducing the rate of all other crimes, including theft, assault and robbery.
“The idea is to have a uniform approach that garners trust and support from other important actors in society, such as the private sector, religious groups, NGOs, universities and community boards, in order to continually improve the results of our efforts to reduce crime,” said Manuel Alberto Zambrano, the executive director of the Ministry of Public Safety’s Comprehensive Security Program (PROSI).
Included in the strategy is the creation of multidisciplinary teams of police officers, psychologists, social workers, sociologists and prosecutors. The government also is using officials from the ministries of Education, Labor and Social Development to work with representatives from the Public Safety Ministry to find solutions to an escalating crime rate.
Panama’s victimization rate reached 16% in 2013, according to the Second Survey on Victimization and Social Perception by the Public Safety Observatory of the Chamber of Commerce, which was released in April. The rate was well above the 10.2% reported in the previous survey in 2010.
Currently, 7,500 between the ages of 8 and 29 are members of the 201 gangs operating in Panama, according to the National Integrated Criminal Statistics System (SIEC).
These groups are mainly engaged in drug trafficking, kidnapping, robbery, extortion and murder.
“Drug trafficking through gangs has taken a leading role because it’s a business,” Panamanian Minister of Public Security José Raúl Mulino said recently. “We’re building a sustainable security structure that the next administration will have to manage in the same way or better.”
Panama City, the nation’s capital, is home to 62 gangs, and Colón – Panama’s second largest city – has 35, according to SIEC.
A total of 374 homicides were recorded from January to June, nine more compared to the same period in 2012.
“Homicides have the strongest impact on the perceptions of a community,” said Domingo Latorraca, a spokesperson for the Panama Chamber of Commerce’s Public Safety Observatory.
But what’s more alarming is 88 killings from January to June of this year were the result of gang confrontations after 40 occurred during the same period in 2012 – an increase of 120% – according to SEIC.
“Most of the crimes that take place are criminals killing each other to take control of territory,” Mulino said.
In 2012, Panama had a homicide rate of 18 per 100,000 residents – a decrease from the 20.8 and 20.6 it posted in 2011 and 2010, respectively – but a marked increase from the 11.3 it had in 2005.
Compared with other countries in Central America, Panama has the third-lowest rate, after Costa Rica (8.9) and Nicaragua (12). Honduras (85.5), Guatemala (32) and El Salvador (24) have the highest rates, according to official figures.
The situation isn’t any better when it comes to robberies and theft. A total of 10,408 cases of theft and 7,200 robberies were documented by the National Police between January and August 2013. In 2012, there were 20,098 cases of theft and 9,465 robberies, according to the SIEC.
The upward trend has been constant. Robberies increased from 2,866 in 2004 to 7,810 in 2010, and thefts increased from 11,699 cases to 18,656 during the same period.
Juan Bello, a 38-year-old taxi driver in Panama City, said gangs are the main cause of his daily insecurity.
“Nowadays, children are recruited by gangs and when they face off with other thugs, they don’t care who gets caught in the crossfire,” Bello said. “Any innocent person can die as the result of a shootout.