A $5 million loan for a program targeting high-crime areas in Montevideo
A $5 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will help Uruguay deploy a program based on a comprehensive approach to reduce violent crime in its capital city, Montevideo.
The program is aimed at increasing police effectiveness in preventing and solving crimes as well as at fostering the social reinsertion of at-risk youth.
The Integrated Local Management Program for Citizen Security will focus on three Montevideo police precincts with high crime rates. This methodology will be tested before it is implemented in the rest of the country.
“The program seeks to address not only the most immediate forms of violence but also their roots, through actions with a strong sense of social cohesion,” said IDB project team leader Gustavo Beliz.
Under the program, 750 police personnel will be trained in crime-solving and community policing techniques. The best performers will have opportunities for further training abroad.
The National Police Academy’s technological infrastructure will be upgraded and its faculty strengthened; crime analysis units will be established and equipped at three police stations; and a new police code of ethics will be developed and put in practice.
The program will also strengthen a network of prevention programs designed to reduce juvenile participation in crime. Among other actions, the program will develop specialized support services for 680 young offenders in the three target police precincts.
The loan is for 25 years, with a 5 ½-year grace period and a variable interest rate. Local counterpart funds for the program will total $2.15 million.