The concept of public safety can be understood in several ways. On the one hand, it is a right and in this sense, national constitutions establish that all citizens have the right to be protected by the State in the face of any possible threat to their personal integrity. On the other hand, public security is an instrument of the State to maintain order and prevent any form of violence through laws and police forces.
Threats and offenses against public safety
Kidnappings, crimes, extortion and various forms of violence are realities that threaten public safety. If these phenomena manifest themselves in a significant number, a social climate of insecurity is created. This situation particularly affects some countries such as Mexico, El Salvador, Venezuela, Honduras, Chad and South Africa.
It should be noted that, on certain occasions, the police bodies that are supposed to guarantee security do not respect human rights and, in this way, the problems of insecurity and violence are aggravated. Public Safety
The consequences of citizen insecurity affect the economy, the well-being of individuals and institutions.
How to combat public insecurity?
The numbers relating to insecurity are very worrying in some areas of the planet. Although there are no magic recipes to combat this social plague, there are some guidelines that are essential to reduce the impact of different forms of crime:
- – Identify the causes of violence: economic inequality, organized crime, police corruption, etc.;
- – Increase the budget allocated to the security forces and strengthen the transnational cooperation of police bodies;
- – Adopt preventive measures such as education values, public awareness through media communication, etc .;
- – Dismantle organized crime and its ramifications through specialized police officers;
- – Promoting a system of justice effective enabling streamline the fight against crime. Public Safety
The homicide rate is a key indicator
When talking about insecurity, specialists and analysts must have objective data on some parameters, such as types of crimes, number of victims, number of complaints, etc. The homicide rate is probably the indicator that best expresses a nation‘s climate of violence. Public Safety
