Crime in El Salvador
The phenomenon of violence in El Salvador is a serious one. Sufficient efforts to understand or deal with this phenomenon in this small Central American country have not been made.[1]
As of March 2012, El Salvador has seen a 40% drop in crime due to what the Salvadoran government called a gang truce. In early 2012, there were on average of 16 killings per day but in late March that number dropped to fewer than 5 per day and on April 14, 2012 for the first time in over 3 years there were no killings in the country. [2] Overall, there were 411 killings in the month of January 2012 but in March the number was 188, more than a 40% reduction in crime. [3] All of this happening while crime in neighboring Honduras has risen to an all time high. [4]
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Violence [edit]
Today, El Salvador experiences some of the highest murder rates in the Latin America; it is also considered an epicenter of the gang crisis, along with Guatemala and Honduras.[5] In response to this, the government has set up countless programs to try to guide the youth away from gang membership; so far its efforts have not produced any quick results. One of the government programs was a gang reform called Super Mano Dura ("Super Firm Hand"). Super Mano Dura had little success, and was highly criticized by the UN. It saw temporary success in 2004, but then saw a rise in crime after 2005. In 2004, the rate of intentional homicides per 100,000 citizens was 41, with 60% of the homicides committed being gang-related.[5]
The Salvadoran government reported that the Super Mano Dura gang legislation led to a 14% drop in murders in 2004. However, El Salvador currently has 65 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, more than triple the current rate of Mexico.[6][7] There are an estimated 25,000 gangmembers at large in El Salvador with another 9,000 in prison.[6] The well most known gangs, called maras in colloquial Salvadoran Spanish, are Mara Salvatrucha and their rivals Calle 18; maras are hunted by death squads including Sombra Negra. New rivals also include the rising mara, The Rebels 13.[8]
Region specific [edit]
San Salvador [edit]
Concerns about public safety in the capital San Salvador increased in the late 1980s due to the civil war. Although it was fought primarily in the countryside, during the latter years of the war, guerrillas started attacking the capital city. San Salvador recovered quickly after the cessation of hostilities, but gang ("mara") violence became a problem.
The 18th Street gang, originating in Los Angeles, California, has proliferated in San Salvador. The Mara Salvatrucha is a rival gang. In 2002 crime rates skyrocketed and the municipal government was unable to combat the rise. Recent efforts by mayor Norman Quijano to restore public safety have been somewhat successful. Security measures in San Salvador's most troubled Districts (5 and 6, which border Soyapango, and are home to many gangs) included safety campaigns and recreational activities to keep youth from joining gangs. The mayor also initiated a security camera program so the police can monitor the most heavily trafficked areas of the city. The project was launched in the historic downtown and will expand throughout the entire city.[9]
As of 2011 San Salvador had managed to reduce its crime rate, and reduce its murder rate to a level lower than that of Haiti, Venezuela,[10] Mexico, Guatemala, or Honduras,[11] although at over 90 murders per 100,000 residents, the per capita rate was more than 10 times higher than major cities such as New York or London.[12] Also according to a UN Development report, San Salvador has a relatively low robbery rate of 90 per 100,000,[13] compared to San José, the capital of Costa Rica, which has 524 robberies per 100,000.[14]
Districts 3 and 4[15] are the safest in the country, their crime rates are comparable to those of European cities. Districts 1 and 2 have a slightly higher crime rate than 3 or 4, while District 5, bordering San Marcos, and District 6, bordering Soyapango, have the highest crime rates.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Crime and Violence: Regional Case Studies: El Salvador
- ^ http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-16/el-salvador-heralds-1st-murder-free-day-in-nearly-3-years/3952156
- ^ Archibold, Randal C. (2012-03-24). "Homicides in El Salvador Drop, and Questions Arise". The New York Times.
- ^ http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Honduras-among-world-s-most-dangerous-places_11240187
- ^ a b Ribando, Clare (2005-05-10). "Gangs in Central America" (PDF). Congressional Research Service (The Library of Congress). Retrieved 2007-06-30.
- ^ a b "In the New Gangland of El Salvador," New York Review of Books, 10 November 2011, p.46
- ^ Bresnahan, Ryann (2006-07-21). "El Salvador Dispatches Additional Contingent to Iraq:Domestic Issues Overrule Anxiety over War". Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA). Retrieved 2007-06-30.
- ^ "Número de Víctimas y Tasas de Homicidios Dolosos en El Salvador (1999–2006)" (PDF) (in Spanish). Observatorio Centroamericano sobre Violencia. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "International Human Development Indicators – UNDP". Hdrstats.undp.org. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
- ^ "International Human Development Indicators – UNDP". Hdrstats.undp.org. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
- ^ "Who, What, Why: What happened to crime in New York City?". BBC News Magazine. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
- ^ "International Human Development Indicators – UNDP". Hdrstats.undp.org. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
- ^ "International Human Development Indicators – UNDP". Hdrstats.undp.org. January 29, 2010. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
- ^ "Bienvenidos a elsalvador.com, el portal de noticias de El Salvador, San Salvador". Elsalvador.com. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
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