CAF and OAS Join Forces to Seek Security Solutions in Latin American Cities

The application of video surveillance systems to prevent and control crime and geospatial analysis to map it are tools increasingly used in large Latin American cities, which present challenges related to the storage and protection of images and data, the right to privacy and the ability to measure their effectiveness or impact, among other aspects.

These issues were addressed at the Conversation on Citizen Security and Technology organized by CAF-Development Bank of Latin America- and the Department of Public Security from the Organization of American States (OAS), a meeting in which experiences in the field were presented from Tigre (Argentina), Medellin (Colombia) and São Paulo (Brazil).

"Video surveillance and crime mapping are key tools in crime prevention. The development of information systems makes it possible to better understand the relationship between place, time, victims and even perpetrators. But technologies are never an end, only a means. Their inclusion brings about a series of challenges, from taking precautions to safeguard citizen rights, to measuring the effectiveness of these tools," said CAF's Director of Analysis and Technical Sustainable Development Evaluation, Jorge Concha, who was in charge of opening the event.

Meanwhile, Guadalupe Aguirre, CAF specialist in Citizen Security, said that “crime and violence are most concentrated in the cities,” so it is important to delve into the limits, benefits and myths engendered by technology, which is often seen as “an almost magical solution.”

The event was attended by Tobias Schleider, consultant and international specialist in democratic security, who referred to information, data and technology as inputs for establishing evidence-based policies.

Vanesa Lio, researcher at the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET) in Argentina, addressed the issue of the functions and limitations of video surveillance in public spaces, using the case of the experience in the city of Tigre, located in the province of Buenos Aires.

Santiago Tobón, director of the Center for Research in Economics and Finance at the Center for Economic and Financial Research (CIEF), EAFIT University of Colombia, shared the evaluation results on the effects of video surveillance camera installation in Medellin, while Tulio Kahn, senior advisor at the Brazilian Democratic Space Foundation, referred to the implementation of geospatial analysis to reduce crime and manage security, presenting the case of homicide reduction in São Paulo.

Karen Bozicovich, Information and Knowledge Section chief at the OAS Department of Public Security, who wrapped up the exchange, said that “the knowledge facilitated by new technologies should not be exclusive of other knowledge, such as the experience of police officers patrolling the streets” and emphasized that all tools available to improve citizen security “are complementary.”

download the event materials here