Wilson Center Experts
Lucia Dammert
In Chile I am an advisor to the Undersecretary of Interior for public security issues where among other things I work on program evaluation and monitoring. In Mexico I am currently finishing a book on the challenges of the City of Mexico Police Department, a work that also draws on my experience as a consultant to the Secretary of Public Security of de City of Mexico and the Chief Advisor of newly elected President Calderon on this subject. In Argentina I have several personal and institutional projects with key policy advisors in the City of Buenos Aires and the Province of Greater Buenos Aires. Accurate studies are key to the development of sound and sustainable policy in this area, and such efforts are seriously in Latin America. The results of this study will have a direct impact over public policies initiatives in public security in those countries.
Education
B.A. in Sociology, Facultad de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina; M.A. in Urban and Regional Planning, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, University of Pittsburgh; Ph.D. Universidad de Leiden, Holanda
Subjects
International Security,Latin America,Urban Issues
Experience
- Research Coordinator of the area "Civil Society and Security," Center of Citizen Security Studies, University of Chile, 2001- 04
- Co-director of the Project Police Reform and Public Security in the Americas, Georgetown University, 2002-04
- Advisor, Asesora de la Red 14 "Seguridad Ciudadana en la ciudad" del URBAL Program, European Comisión, 2004
- Asesora de la División de Seguridad Ciudadana, Asesoría a la Jefatura de la División de Seguridad Ciudadana del Ministerio del Interior de Chile, 2003-04
Expertise
Latin America, Public Security, Participation
Project Summary
Crime is one of the central topics in the political agenda in most countries of Latin America. In the cases selected for study, Argentina, Chile and Mexico, insecurity has become one of the most vexing and complex public policy challenges with the potential for seriously undermining the rule of law and challenging democratic governance. For different reasons in each case crime and fear of crime are playing significant roles in governmental agendas at the national, estate and local levels. Public policies developed in the last decade to address this matter are closely linked to experiences considered "success stories" in the US. Unfortunately, little research has been done to systematically compare alternative experiences of policy diffusion and its relative effectiveness in addressing a central public policy challenge. In undertaking this study I will be able to draw on my own close professional relationship and access to key decision makers at the highest level in all three countries.
Major Publications
- Public Security and Police Reform in the Americas, co-edited with John Bailey, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2005.
- Seguridad y Reforma Policial en las Américas, coeditado con John Bailey. Editorial Siglo XXI, México, 2005.
- Ciudad y Seguridad en América Latina (editora) En Coautoría con Gustavo Paulsen, FLACSO, 2005.
- Seguridad Ciudadana: Experiencias y desafíos (editora) URB-AL, Valparaíso, 2004.
