The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) estimated the annual cost of crime and violence in Latin America and the Caribbean at US1 billion.
The study, published on Friday, indicated that this total accounts for 3.55 per cent of regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is approximately what is invested in the
Region’s infrastructure.
The IDB had launched investigations into the costs of crime and violence, with focus on 17 Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries over the period 2010-2014. The study was initiated as a result of the continuous increase in crime in the Region, despite the progress made in areas such as poverty, health and education. The LAC Region contains nine per cent of the world’s population, but accounts for nearly one-third of its homicide victims, making it the most violent region outside war zones.
The landmark study entitled, “The Costs of Crime and Violence: New Evidence and Insights in Latin America and the Caribbean”, simplified the economic impacts of crime into three categories. These include the social costs, which is lethal and non-lethal victimisation, and foregone income of prison populations, amounting to 0.64 per cent of the GDP; the private spending on security by businesses and households (1.37 per cent) of the GDP; and public spending, including the costs to the judicial system, spending on Police services and on prisons (1.51 per cent of the GDP).
This is equivalent to the income of 30 per cent of the poorest population, underlining the grave effect violence has on the Region’s development.
An IDB news release revealed that crime and violence are at near crisis levels in Latin America and the Caribbean. The study disclosed that six out of 10 robberies in the Region involve violence and 90 per cent of murders go unresolved. The prisons are the most overcrowded in the world.
When compared to the records of six developed countries, the cost of crime and violence in LAC countries exceeds the cost in these developed societies, including the US and the United Kingdom (UK). Moreover, the cost of violence against women in Latin America and the Caribbean doubles the world’s average.
The study recommends that cutting the cost of crime to the level of developed nations is projected to increase the Region’s investment towards development by 50 per cent.
Ana María Rodríguez, Manager of the IDB’s Institutions for Development Department, stated that “the study will help Governments and international cooperation agencies better allocate resources, as well as design better policies to control and prevent crime”. As such, it is the gateway for future studies, with an impending research on gender violence.
The IDB is a leading source of long-term financing for economic, social and institutional projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. Besides loans, grants and guarantees, the IDB conducts cutting-edge research to offer innovative and sustainable solutions to our Region’s most pressing challenges.
