Robust and reliable information is needed to properly diagnose, plan, carry out and monitor citizen security policies.

Many countries in our region lack good quality, up-to-date statistical data. There are overlapping sources of information, too many definitions and indicators, numbers subject to different interpretations and inadequate mechanisms for collection and measurement.

To address these concerns, the Bank supplies grant resources and organizational support to the Standardized Regional System of Indicators for Citizen Security and Violence Prevention (SES), which builds consensus among countries and among different institutions within countries on how to measure and compare reliable information related to crime and violence. The initiative receives financing through the IDB’s Regional Public Goods program, a mechanism in which the Bank assists countries that promote regional integration.

Launched in 2007 with the participation of six nations, the initiative now includes 14 countries and the city of Buenos Aires.

Through panel discussions and other information-sharing platforms, the initiative brings together policy makers and technical experts from different countries and from within each country’s various institutions that produce and process information.

Agreements have been reached on the definition and method of collecting and comparing data on citizen security and violence prevention through the use of 22 indicators based on administrative registers and surveys. A strategy is in place to apply these mechanisms in each of the 15 partners, a process assisted by investments in training, technology, and information sharing.

More information on the SES´s web-site

See impact