Addendum_1_Place-based_Strategy_Factsheet-CENTAM.pdf

Our Goal: To reduce and prevent violence by targeting the most at-risk communities and at-risk people through a combination of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention efforts along with law enforcement interventions in a geographically-targeted area, identified as the most at-risk through data collection and analysis.

Our Approach: INL and USAID’s place-based strategy combines the public health model for violence prevention with law enforcement interventions. A public health approach can be broken down to three levels, each focusing on a specific developmental stage of crime and violence:

Primary prevention is directed at stopping crime well before it happens by addressing factors that influence an individual’s likelihood of one day becoming an offender, such as: domestic abuse, drug and alcohol misuse, unemployment and low educational achievement;

Secondary prevention moves one step closer to the commission of crime, targeting those deemed at highest risk of engaging in illicit activities; and

Tertiary prevention refers to ex post facto measures after a crime has occurred to reduce recidivism among known offenders. It is closely tied to intervention and rehabilitation activities.

Innovation: Key to the INL/USAID place-based approach is the thoughtful and methodical combination of the public health model with law enforcement interventions in the most at-risk communities. INL and USAID integrate services under one overarching theory of change, unique to each community, and measure progress with vigorous data collection and analysis.

Regional Rollout: INL and USAID piloted the place -based approach in Honduras. In partnership with the government of Honduras and other key stakeholders, INL and USAID used data that identified the Rivera Hernandez and Chamelecon neighborhoods of San Pedro Sula as high-crime places and with key at-risk people. INL and USAID then designed a balanced and integrated set of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention programs along with law enforcement interventions under the overarching goal of reducing homicide in Rivera Hernandez and Chamelecon. In El Salvador and Guatemala, INL and USAID will analyze data and coordinate efforts to identify key places and people to target services under the holistic place-based model.

Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Updated: February 2015

Place-Based Strategy for Violence Prevention

U.S. Department of State

INL partners with USAID in Central America to implement an empirically-driven strategy for violence reduction in the most at-risk communities in the region.

Community Police Outreach Event

Law En fo rce m e n t