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IDBx: IDB17.3x Leaders in Citizen Security and Justice Management

Glossary

    • A

      Accountability: is the recognition and assumption of responsibility for actions, decisions and policies including the administration, governance and implementation within the scope of the role or employment position and encompassing the obligation to report, explain and be answerable for resulting consequences. Police accountability involves holding both individual police officers and law enforcement agencies responsible for effectively delivering basic services of crime control and maintaining order, while treating individuals fairly and within the bounds of law. 
      Administrative records: correspond to the statistical information which is systematically recorded by public bodies in order to monitor trends in the occurrence of social phenomena. In addition, this information enables decision making on the design, monitoring, and evaluation of policies.
      Adolescence: a stage characterized by the consolidation of the moral and social development began in childhood, and which specifically involves the formation of identity and acquisition of roles within the adolescent's social, community and family life. During this stage, the relationship with the peer group is important and relevant. 
      Aspirational crime: criminal acts committed by individuals to achieve their consumption goals and personal fulfillment expectations as promoted by society in the face of the limited possibilities it offers in achieving or materializing them.  

      C

      Childhood: is the stage generally spanning from 0 to 10 years old, although this can be extended in time depending on the characteristics of the subjects and their contexts.  
      Citizen security: is the State's capacity in partnership with the private sector, individuals, academia, community associations, neighborhoods and citizens to provide and co-produce a framework of protection for the life and property of individuals, making it possible for citizens to live together peacefully without fear in order to achieve a better quality of life.
      Community policing: philosophy of a personalized full service where the same officer patrols and works in the same area on a permanent basis from a decentralized place, working in a proactive partnership with citizens to identify and solve problems. 
      Community policing program: a strategy for security that seeks to promote partnerships between the community and the police in which they work together to make neighborhoods safer and reduce crime and disorder. This has been taken from the Anglo-Saxon model and particularly adapted in Latin American countries 
      Competencies: correspond to the putting into practice of skills at a certain time in a given context.
      Criminal policy: the set of state policies that defines the relationship between the State and the person who commits a crime, and holds responsibility for its prevention and punishment. A democratic criminal policy recognizes the limitation imposed by the rights and guarantees granted to the people in both domestic provisions and in international law. 

      D

      Dark (or hidden) figure: the term used to refer to all criminal acts that do not become known to the system due to lack of reporting. 
      Data-gathering information methods-surveys: standardized tools for collecting information on a research object. The surveys or questionnaires are composed of structured questions that measure perceptions, attitudes, and interests, among other elements. When this tool is applied to a representative sample of the population, which is randomly selected, it makes it possible to characterize large segments of the population through the use of statistical analysis procedures. 
      Democratic governance: the establishment of the political and institutional conditions needed for the democratic exercise of government actions based on respect for citizenship and legitimacy, which is supported by the necessary social trust in citizen security institutions and justice.
      Desistance from crime: abstaining or desisting in the commission of crimes over a long period of time by individuals with a repeated and multiple criminal history record. The focus is not on the transition toward change or the reintegration or rehabilitation process, but on staying free of criminal activity while taking into account the various obstacles and frustrations participants must face. 

      E

      Ecology of crime: theoretical school of thought that suggests that the city fosters the emergence of crime, especially in areas with particular conditions such as overcrowding, family unit breakdown, lack of social control, proximity to industrial areas, unemployment, urban decay, and disorder. 
      Ecological model of prevention in violence: an approach that addresses the factors of violence from an environmental perspective. One of the main conclusions of international research on the causes of gender violence is that social, community and relational factors play an important role in determining general levels of violence and individual risk factors. 
      Effectiveness: refers to the ability to strike a balance between achieving efficacy and efficiency in the implementation of a public program. This implies achieving the expected results through using the available resources efficiently. The cost-effectiveness evaluation may be conducted to choose between two alternative programs (before the intervention) or to evaluate the results and impact of a program (ex post). 
      Efficacy: relates to the degree of compliance with the project's objectives, which is not necessarily measured in terms of the resources allocated to it, but by the percentage of coverage of the target population. 
      Efficiency: refers to the implementation, administration and organization of the activities being carried out in such a way that it implies the lowest possible cost to maximize the delivery of goods and/or services. 
      Evidence based programs: programs that are designed based on the empirical results of other similar experiences (what works and what does not); i.e. through the systematic collection of observations that answer the question whether a program or public policy has achieved the expected results 

      F

      Fear of crime: refers to the perception of fear and vulnerability at the possibility of being a victim of a crime.  
      Federated States: promote an increased alignment between the central governments and the regional and local governments, based on legal, political and administrative decentralization and on the autonomy of the other federal entities which are constitutionally guaranteed.  
      Femicide: murder of a woman or girl due to her gender that is perpetrated by a man with hatred, contempt and brutality.  

      G

      Georeferencing: methodology of spatial positioning that uses standardized maps and databases to geographically locate different phenomena. In particular, GIS (Geographic Information Systems) facilitates the analysis of the distribution, concentration, trends and movement of the object studied within the framework of analysis units with different scales (streets, neighborhoods, cities, countries). 
      Governance: institutional devices, mechanisms and arrangements that foster a productive environment for negotiation and cooperation in the public sphere which engages all  the different interests and agendas of the various public, private, and social actors.  

      H

      Hot spots policing: the monitoring of hot spots focuses on small geographic areas or places where crime is concentrated. In general, hot spots are considered to be small places where the occurrence of the crime is so frequent that it is highly predictable, at least for a period of one year. The appeal of concentrating limited resources in a small number of highly active crime areas is based on the belief that if crime can be prevented in these trouble spots, total crime in the city can also be reduced. 

      I

      Impulsive violence: uncontrolled and spontaneous physical violence which is triggered by feelings, aggressiveness or rage against a person. 
      Incarceration rate: the number of people imprisoned in a specific place and time in proportion to the total population associated to this specific place in time. This is the most common indicator for comparing different penitentiary systems. The international standard presents the results for every 100,000 inhabitants.
      Indicators: an indicator can be defined as a quantitative expression that reflects a relationship between two dimensions of a certain phenomenon or fact and is used to measure the achievement of a goal sought by a project or program action. They enable the comparison of the state of reality, identified by the indicator at different moments of time, or with corresponding situations. 
      Instrumental violence: rational, physical violence that is premeditated and planned and seeks to obtain a material goal for the benefit of the perpetrator or his/her group membership.  
      Intersectionality: a term that highlights the concealment among systems of oppression, domination or discrimination, and that allows us to understand social identity from a multidimensional basis, including the interaction between social categories such as gender, ethnicity, race, social class, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age, and nationality. Any social analysis must consider each trait of a person, along with the rest of the elements. 

      L

      Local government: a lower level of government whose administration is limited to a small population and territory, albeit with significant political, economic and administrative autonomy. Its description may vary depending on the type of State (centralized or decentralized and its gray areas). It is here we find districts, municipalities, city halls, etc. 
      Logical Framework Approach: management tool destined to facilitate the process of identification, formulation or design, implementation and evaluation of projects. Its objective is to structure the planning process and allow for the project's essential information to be communicated clearly (Virtual Training Course on Evaluation of Crime and Violence Prevention Programs by CESC). 

      M

      Militarization of the police: process of philosophical and strategic transformation in which the use of violent force is considered as an appropriate and necessary response to ensure citizen security. It refers to the use of military equipment and tactics by the police.
      Miscarriage of justice: refers to the conviction and punishment of innocent people for crimes they did not commit. Also known as wrongful convictions, they are considered to be one of the most serious forms of human rights abuse. 

      P

      Policing: types of surveillance and police action that are planned and implemented along with other state actors, the private sector, the community, society organizations, and academia. 
      Police brutality: abuse of authority by the police while performing their official duties, which is evidenced in the unwarranted infliction of excessive force. While the term is usually applied in the context of causing physical harm, it may also involve psychological harm through the use of intimidation tactics beyond the scope of the sanctioned police procedure. 
      Police legitimacy: is a condition that enables the police to exercise their authority in maintaining social order, managing conflicts and solving problems in their communities, which also has the voluntary support of citizens who feel an affinity with the moral values of the institution which they recognize as having legally performed its activities.  
      Prevention of violence against women: any effort to eliminate, mitigate or reduce the occurrence of the problem or its repetition in the future.
      Preventive/pre-trial detention: incarceration of a person who has not yet been convicted; in other words, whose judicial process is still ongoing.  
      Prison overcrowding: the over-occupation of the penal institutions; in other words, when the declared capacity of the accommodation for people deprived of their liberty is surpassed and exceeded. 
      Problem-oriented policing: analytical method used by the police to develop strategies that prevent and reduce crime, violence, and other problems that affect coexistence. Under the POP model, police agencies are expected to systematically analyze the problems in a community, seek effective solutions for them, and assess the impact of their efforts. 
      Problem solving courts: courts that mark a departure from the strictly adversarial model of justice, focusing on solving the problem that gives rise to the crime and improving justice system outcomes for both victims and offenders and the community by connecting the offender with the necessary services to overcome the problem. 
      Procedural justice: is the idea of fairness and transparency in the processes by which decisions are made. In the police field, it refers to how the police interact with the public, and how this interaction shapes the public's opinions of the police, citizens' willingness to obey the law, and the real crime rates. It is based on four central principles: "treating people with dignity and respect, giving citizens "voice" during encounters, being neutral in decision-making, and conveying trustworthy motives."   
      Protective factors: aspects or variables that reduce the chances of developing a problem behavior. They may be at an individual, group and community level 

      R

      Recidivism: refers to the act of repeatedly committing crimes. This concept can be interpreted from a legal perspective (with reference to new convictions), in terms of public safety (i.e. repeating criminal behavior), or from a prison perspective (re-imprisonment). 
      Rehabilitation: a series of activities carried out within the prisons directed towards promoting the generation of knowledge, attitudes and behaviors which fit social norms. This term is used as a synonym for reintegration in Central American and Caribbean countries.
      Restorative justice: is a way of administering justice which places the parties involved in a criminal dispute (victim and offender) and their interests at the center of the process while setting the encounter (collective decision) and reparation as the main objectives. 
      Restorative justice conferences: voluntary meetings involving the participation of the offender and the victim, along with the people closest to them, which are guided by a facilitator in an attempt to draw up a reparation plan between the participants and agree on a mechanism to monitor compliance. 
      Results-based management: a methodology which is part of the New Public Management (NPM) approach and proposes that the organization of public body management should be based on strategic planning, the definition of quantifiable results (measurable), performance evaluation, and the establishment of contractual relationships between public agents. 
      Risk factors: aspects or variables that increase the chances of developing a problematic behavior. They may be at an individual, group and community level. 
      Rule of law: refers to a principle of governance in which all persons, institutions and entities, public and private, including the State itself, are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced and independently adjudicated, and which are consistent with international norms and standards. (The Rule of Law and Transitional Justice in Conflict and Post-Conflict Societies. (United Nations Security Council, 2004, S / 2004/616 *).

      S

      Situational prevention: preventive types of actions (strategy) that seek to reduce the opportunities available to the offender, make it more difficult to commit a criminal act and raise the costs of the commission of a crime, thereby increasing the effort and risk that the criminal runs and reducing the benefits, impulses, and excuses to commit a crime.
      Skills: actual or potential character resources that are cognitive, affective or emotional, and social. In this course skills or resources at the individual, group or community level are observed. 
      Social evaluation: systematic application of procedures and methods of social research which aims to establish a value judgment regarding the design, implementation, efficiency and effectiveness of a project, program, or public policy. 
      Social reintegration: systematic process of actions to encourage a person convicted under the law to fully integrate into society and, in particular, into their community. This process involves the comprehensive participation of the offender, public and private institutions, and the community at large. 
      Statistics: refers to the collection, interpretation and analysis of numerical data presented in an orderly and systematic manner. The purpose of statistics is to describe numerical information and make inferences on the occurrence of certain phenomena, allowing for the analysis of high volumes of information. 

      T

      Therapeutic justice: is a way of administering justice that advocates for the law to be applied in a way that maximizes its therapeutic effects. This entails that the organization of the courts, procedures and interaction among the different professionals involved in the criminal process, as well as the laws and policies, are aimed at improving the mental health and well-being of the participants. 
      Trust: is the belief that people and institutions, through their action or inaction, will contribute to my/our well-being and refrain from causing damage upon me/us. 

      U

      Use of force: in the context of police work, use of force is defined as the amount of physical effort required by police to obtain the due obedience of a subject or to protect their own lives or the lives of others. Police officers should use only the amount of force necessary to mitigate an incident, make an arrest, or protect themselves or others from harm. The levels, or the force continuum of police force use, include verbal commands, physical restraints, non-lethal force and lethal force. 
      Unitarian States: are identified by their greater concentration of power in the central government, which presides over the subnational levels, in which power relationships are subjected to a hierarchical and pyramidal logic.  

      V

      Victimization and perception surveys: quantitative tools to collect information which characterizes the victims, criminals, context and crime circumstances in order to obtain a measurement which is closer to the real crime levels (objective insecurity) and collects information about people's perceptions of dealing with crime (subjective insecurity). 
      Violence: is the intentional  use of physical force or power, either as a threat or an action, against oneself, another person, a group or a community that results or is very likely to result in injuries, death, psychological damage, developmental problems and deprivation (WHO). 
      Violence against women: shall be understood as encompassing, but not limited to: a) Physical, sexual and psychological violence in the family, including ill-treatment, sexual abuse of girls within their homes, dowry-related violence, rape by the husband, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices that are harmful to women, acts of violence perpetrated by other family members and violence related to exploitation; b) Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated within the community in general, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women and forced prostitution; c) Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or tolerated by the State, wherever it occurs. (Article 2, UN, 1994). 
      Vulnerability: presence of risk factors that affect the development and social inclusion of people at a given time and place.

      Y

      Youth: developmental phase linked to the early stage of adulthood during which individuals gradually take on obligations associated with their roles as adults in society, in the community, and in the family. 

      V

      Zero tolerance policing: form of surveillance designed to suppress any minor infraction—such as loitering or graffiti—which could become a more serious criminal activity. Zero tolerance implies that the strict application of the law is the only solution for all criminal problems.