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Denison University

Publication Date

Fall 2006

Program Name

Southern Cone: Regional Integration, Development and Social Change

Abstract

During the decade of the ‘90’s until well into mid-2000’s, crime rates increased dramatically in Argentina. This was especially true after the socio-economic crisis of 2001, where a radical unemployment rate accompanied the growing crime rates. A public policy was thus implemented by the Ministry of Justice and Human Development in 2000 in order to attack this growing national concern. The National Plan of Crime Prevention is implemented in what will be referred to as “Vulnerable Communities”. These are marginal areas of the Province of Buenos Aires where drug use, unemployment and loitering on the streets are commonly observed. It is in these areas, according to statistics, that crime initiates. I will study how this public policy is implemented in two specific geographic locations and how the models differentiate in order to fit the local population’s basic needs. Visiting two different locations and interviewing a total of 38 people, as well as using statistics from the National Plan’s semester reports, I was able to explain what impact the Program has on the participant as an individual, on his or her family and in his or her community in general. At first, statistics from the National Criminology Department will be used to justify the implementation of the program. These statistics will demonstrate that in fact, crime is a major issue in the Province of Buenos Aires. Next, different debates on how crime should be solved will be explained to lead into the description of how the National Plan of Crime Prevention in Argentina works. The explanation of the Program’s activities and participant’s profiles as well as a detailed analysis of opinions of the program from current participants, ex-participants and community members will allow me to come to the conclusion that the public policy implemented in Argentina in fact has demonstrated to be effective in achieving its goals and is currently helping prevent and reduce crime in the areas it has been implemented.

Disciplines

Criminology

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Criminology Commons

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