The southern Colombian city of Palmira has seen a significant decrease in its murder rate, due in part to a new program that takes a unique approach to addressing the issue. The strategy, which uses an epidemiological approach to identify homicide clusters, has cut the city’s murder rate by 29 percent, its lowest in 17 years. This approach provides family support, apprenticeships, and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people, aiming to keep them in the education system and provide extracurricular activities in sports and music.
The program has managed to transform the lives of some 30,000 young people between the ages of 15 and 29, reclaiming public spaces from gangs and providing new opportunities for the city’s youth. One example of the program’s impact is 27-year-old Marcela Cabal, who is training to be a motorbike mechanic. She notes that this opportunity has given her an income and has allowed her to support her children through school.
The program has not only provided new opportunities for young people but has also succeeded in reducing violence and preventing them from joining gangs. Sixteen-year-old Andrés Murillo explains that access to psychological support has helped him realize that there is a future for him and that the life of a gangster is short-lived.
The success of this program in Palmira stands in stark contrast to the security crackdown implemented by President Nayib Bukele in El Salvador. The controversial “mano dura” strategy led to the detention of tens of thousands of gang members, resulting in a temporary reduction of the murder rate in the country. However, experts argue that such policies are ineffective in the long run. They believe that addressing the social roots of gang involvement and providing opportunities for conventional living are essential to effectively addressing gang violence.
According to experts, the public health approach adopted in Palmira has shed light on the dynamics of lethal violence and has the potential to dramatically improve the efficiency and effectiveness of responses to the issue. This approach, while less attractive to politicians due to its lack of immediate results and higher financial investment, has proven to be effective in addressing the underlying causes of violence and supporting the rehabilitation of former gang members.
In summary, the innovative approach taken by the city of Palmira in addressing its high murder rate has proven to be effective in reducing violence and providing new opportunities for its youth. The success of this program highlights the potential of public health-based interventions in tackling the root causes of gang violence.