Policing insecurity : police reform, security, and human rights in Latin America

Profound distrust commonly characterizes not only the relationship between citizens and state institutions, but also social, as well as inter- and intra-state relations. This impacts the effectiveness and quality of the service provided by state institutions. The degree to which police and judicial reforms are able to generate trust on these fronts is therefore an important yardstick to judge their relevance under varying circumstances of 'post-authoritarian rule', but this question is largely ignored in the current literature on policing and reform. From this perspective, Policing Insecurity: Police Reform, Security, and Human Rights in Latin America suggests an agenda of future reforms for the region, drawing and building upon policing reform experiences throughout the Latin America, looking at issues such as impunity, professionalization, community policing, as well as accountability and training of the police.By explicitly linking issues of state-social trust, democratic transition, human rights, and security, these case studies provide a basis for the wider discussion in the book about prerequisites for the success or failure of police reforms, thus adding to our empirical and theoretical knowledge in these areas and introducing an important dimension to the literature on police reform, security, and human rights. Profound distrust commonly characterizes not only the relationship between citizens and state institutions, but also social, as well as inter- and intra-state relations. This impacts the effectiveness and quality of the service provided by state institutions. The degree to which police and judicial reforms are able to generate trust on these fronts is therefore an important yardstick to judge their relevance under varying circumstances of 'post-authoritarian rule', but this question is largely ignored inthe current literature on policing and reform. From this perspective, Policing Insecurity: Police Reform, Security, and Human Rights in Latin America suggests an agenda of future reforms for the region, drawing and building upon policing reform experiences throughout the Latin America, looking at issues such as impunity, professionalization, community policing, as well as accountability and training of the police. By explicitly linking issues of state-social trust, democratic transition, human rights, and security, these case studies provide a basis for the wider discussion in the book about prerequisites for the success or failure of police reforms, thus adding to our empirical and theoretical knowledge in these areas and introducing an importantdimension to the literature on police reform, security, and human rights. Police Reform, Security And Human Rights In Latin America : An Introduction / Niels Uildriks -- Recent Police Reforms In Latin America / Hugo Frühling -- On The Long Road To Demilitarization And Professionalization Of The Police In Brazil / Saima Husain -- Post-war Violence And Police Reform In Guatemala / Marie-louise Glebbeek -- International Police Assistance In Jamaica Under Escalated Violence And Institutionalized Non-integrity / Niels Uildriks -- Police Transformation And International Cooperation : The Jamaican Experience / Anthony Harriott -- Police And Judicial Reform In Chile / Lucia Dammert -- Police Reform In Argentina : Public Security Versus Human Rights / Mark Ungar -- Policing Insecurity And Police Reform In Mexico City And Beyond / Niels Uildriks. Edited By Niels Uildriks. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 225-241) And Index.