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Crime and violence are affecting the lives of millions of people in Latin America. Some consider social inequality to be a major contributing factor to levels of violence in Latin America,〔"World Bank research convincingly demonstrates a strong link between crime and income inequality, which has worsened in Latin America in the past decade and is unlikely to improve dramatically in the years ahead." - Prillaman (2003:1)〕 where the state fails to prevent crime and organized crime takes over State control in areas where the State is unable to assist the society such as in impoverished communities. In the years following the transitions from authoritarianism to democracy, crime and violence have become major problems in Latin America. Several studies indicated the existence of an epidemic in the region; the Pan American Health Organization called violence in Latin America "the social pandemic of the 20th century."〔Cesar Chelala, ''Violence in the Americas: The Social Pandemic of the 20th Century'' (Washington, D.C.: Pan American Health Organization, 1997).〕 Apart from the direct human cost, the rise in crime and violence has imposed significant social costs and has made much more difficult the processes of economic and social development, democratic consolidation and regional integration in the Americas.〔(LAII: Crime, Violence and Democracy in Latin America )〕 ==Consequences for the region== High rates of crime and violence in Latin America are undermining growth, threatening human welfare, and impeding social development, according to World Bank and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).〔(Latin America and Caribbean - Crime, Violence, and Development: Trends, Costs, and Policy Options in the Caribbean )〕 Latin America is caught in a vicious circle, where economic growth is thwarted by high crime rates, and insufficient economic opportunity contributes to high crime. Crime and violence thrives as the rule of law is weak, economic opportunity is scarce, and education is poor. Therefore, effectively addressing crime requires a holistic, multi-sectoral approach that addresses its root social, political, and economic causes. Recent statistics indicate that crime is becoming the biggest problem in Latin America. Amnesty International has declared Latin America as the most dangerous region in the world for journalists to work. In Colombia, one person was murdered every 10 minutes in 2005.〔http://www.guncite.com/colombian_crime_rpt_2005〕 In Mexico, armed gangs of rival drug smugglers have been fighting it out with one another, thus creating new hazards in rural areas. Crime is extremely high in all of the major cities in Brazil. Wealthy citizens have had to provide for their own security. In large parts of Rio de Janeiro, armed criminal gangs are said to be in control. The city of São Paulo is also very dangerous. Crime statistics were high in El Salvador, Guatemala and Venezuela during 1996. The police have not been able to handle the work load and the military have been called in to assist in these countries.〔(Bot generated title --> )〕 There was a very distinct crime wave happening in Latin America.〔(Security Problems in Latin America )〕 The city that currently topped the list of the world's most violent cities is San Pedro Sula in Honduras, leading various media sources to label it the "murder capital of the world."〔Rafael Romo and Nick Thompson, (Inside San Pedro Sula, the 'murder capital' of the world ), CNN, March 28, 2013, accessed April 30, 2013.〕〔Carol Kuruvilla, (San Pedro Sula in northwest Honduras is the murder capital of the world: report ), ''New York Daily News'', March 30, 2013, accessed April 30, 2013.〕〔Jorge Cabrera, (Life and death in the murder capital ), Reuters, April 5, 2013, accessed April 30, 2013.〕〔(Honduran City is World Murder Capital; Juarez Drops for Second Year in a Row ), Fox News Latino, February 8, 2013, accessed April 30, 2013.〕 Crime is slowing economic growth and undermining democratic consolidation in Latin America. Today, Latin America has the dubious distinction of being most violent region in the world, with combined crime rates more than triple the world average and are comparable to rates in nations experiencing war. This is taking a tremendous toll on development in the region by both affecting economic growth and public faith in democracy. The Inter-American Development Bank estimates that Latin America's per capita Gross Domestic Product would be twenty-five percent higher if the region's crime rates were equal to the world average. Similarly, the World Bank has identified a strong correlation between crime and income inequality.〔http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DEC/Resources/Crime&Inequality.pdf FAJNZYLBER et al, "Inequality and law", Journal of Law and Economics, vol. XLV (April 2002)〕 Business associations in the region rank crime as the number one issue negatively affecting trade and investment. Crime-related violence also represents the most important threat to public health, striking more victims than HIV/AIDS or other infectious diseases.〔(Crime Hinders Development, Democracy in Latin America, U.S. Says - US Department of State )〕 Public faith in democracy itself is under threat as governments are perceived as unable to deliver basic services such as public security. A United Nations report revealed that only 43 percent of Latin Americans are fully supportive of democracy. Crime has rapidly risen to the top of the list of citizen concerns in Latin America. As the Economist magazine described it, "in several Latin American countries, 2004 will be remembered as the year in which the people rose up in revolt against crime." Massive street marches such as those that took place in Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil, and other expressions of protest against violence, have made it increasingly difficult for politicians to avoid dealing with the issue and, in many countries, have made tackling crime a central theme in political party platforms across the region. Several leaders in the region, including El Salvador's Tony Saca, Ricardo Maduro in Honduras, Guatemala's Óscar Berger, and Álvaro Uribe in Colombia, have all campaigned on a strong anti-crime message. The Presidents of Honduras and El Salvador have called gangs ''(maras)'' as big a threat to national security in their countries as terrorism is to the United States.〔 "World Bank researchers have demonstrated the existence of a 'criminal inertia,' in which high rates of criminality endure long after the latent socioeconomic causes have disappeared or been addressed through policy interventions."〔WC Prillaman (2003), "(Crime, democracy, and development in Latin America )," ''Policy Papers on the Americas''〕〔see Daniel Lederman, Norman Loayza, and Ana María Menendez, “Violent Crime: Does Social Capital Matter?” Economic Development and Cultural Change 3 (April 2002): 509–539; Richard Rosenfeld, Steven F. Messner, and Eric P. Baumer, Social Capital and Homicide (Saint Louis:University of Missouri Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 1999).〕 Another reason critics believe fuels crime in Latin America is due to the poor public primary education system they say it "has given rise to youths without jobs or expectations of employment-thereby fueling the mounting problem of gang violence in Central America, Mexico, Jamaica, Trinidad, Colombia and Brazil." 〔__."Crime Hinders Development, Democracy in Latin America, U.S. Says". ''U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs''. April 2005. < http://usinfo.state.gov/dhr/Archive/2005/Apr/21-965427.html> (accessed May 19, 2008).〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Crime and violence in Latin America」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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