$10 million loan will finance data collection and analysis
Ecuador will improve the quality of the collection and analysis of criminological information by its law enforcement agencies with a $10 million loan approved by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The program will strengthen the capacity of the police to identify patterns and causes of crime and to better design police operations and mechanisms to reduce crime. The loan will finance training for experts, managers, police and officials in areas such as criminology, analysis of crime data collection, enforcement strategies and protocols to translate information into effective prevention.
"To effectively combat this phenomenon it is necessary to have prompt and reliable information that will enable better reporting and classification of crimes and misdemeanors," said Pablo Alonso, IDB project team leader. "More efficient data collection will allow police to identify the causes and patterns of crimes, and give them better tools to design their operations based on reliable evidence."
The IDB intervention will contribute to the strengthening of seven government departments and 134 units of community police.
The program will include the creation of five regional Public Safety Observatories (OSCR) whose coverage will extend to the following localities: Esmeraldas, Sucumbíos, Pichincha, Napo, Orellana, Manabí, Cotopaxi, Chimborazo, Tungurahua, Pastaza, Santo Domingo, Galápagos, Azuay, Cañar, Morona-Santiago, El Oro, Loja and Zamora.
The IDB's loan is for a term of 25 years with a grace period of five years and a variable interest rate based on LIBOR.