2019 Development Conference Thought Leadership Compendium

7th Annual

Development

Conference Presented by

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP COMPENDIUM

Using Civic Justice to Disrupt Cycles of Violence: Lessons Learned from Mexico

By JosĂŠ Lobo and Molly Burns

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In Morelia, Michoacán in Mexico, a woman returned to her vehicle to find she was being ticketed by a police officer for parking in a no parking zone. She became verbally aggressive towards the officer, pushed him, and accused him of distributing tickets only to collect bribes.

Three years ago, Morelia authorities would have likely addressed this incident through an immediate punitive measure — perhaps a night in jail or the solicitation of a bribe to avoid jail time. Instead, last month, this woman was sent to a public hearing, much like a community court. The judge explained the impact of these actions on the community at large: parking in prohibited spaces infringes on the rights of other people and pushing a police officer without any consequence disrespects the person and the institution and lowers the morale of the police force. After assessing her individual situation and needs, the judge then directed her to free cognitive behavioral therapy as an alternative to paying a fine.

This scenario outlines the basic logic behind the Civic Justice Model, pioneered in Mexico by municipal governments in Morelia and Escobedo, with the support of the Federal Government of Mexico and the USAID Juntos para la Prevención de la Violencia (JPV) Activity. While criminal justice addresses violence that has already escalated, “civic justice” deals with minor offenses and aims to prevent violence before it escalates. By addressing the causes of community conflicts and minor offenses (such as neighbor quarrels, public intoxication, driving under the influence, and graffitiing), the model, supported by a local systems framework, is a promising institutional solution for violence prevention. It disrupts cycles of violence by identifying when an individual has a propensity towards violence (in this case, a hostile reaction to a parking ticket) and providing alternative solutions to punitive measures, like therapy, which helps reduce impulsiveness and improve decision-making. This could prevent potentially more severe acts of violence, such as fighting, domestic violence, or homicide.

In Mexico, these types of minor offenses and community conflicts deteriorate daily peace and citizen coexistence, forcing residents to accept violence as part of their lives. It is commonly assumed that drug trafficking and organized crime are the main determinants of violence in Mexico; however, data tells us that many crimes in Mexico are the result of impunity, insufficient law enforcement, and rule of law deficiency. Of the 33 million crimes committed in 2018, for example, 28.5 percent relate to street or public transport robbery or assault, 17 percent to extortion, 14 percent to fraud, and 11.5 percent to vehicle theft.

In this context, the Civic Justice Model is an important mechanism in Morelia and Escobedo — and now in other Mexican municipalities — to promote a culture of lawfulness, build trust between citizens and their local governments, and disrupt cycles of violence. To implement this model in other contexts, we offer the following lessons.

Transitioning to Civic Justice: Lessons Learned Institutional buy-in is critical to change mindsets. Changing from punitive to preventive structures is hard work and entails a widespread shift in mindset among relevant actors. In Mexico, we found that having a champion within local government was a game changer — in particular, someone who can influence others both within and outside of government. This should be someone, such as the mayor or public safety commissioner, who can bring multisectoral actors to the table to work towards a vision for service provision that would support civic justice implementation. To develop champions and advocate for civic justice as a crime and violence prevention mechanism, JPV worked with local stakeholders to incentivize action by framing it in the context of larger national violence prevention priorities and as an opportunity to demonstrate regional leadership.

Multisectoral participation strengthens long-term sustainability. Multisectoral participation ensures sustainability both through consistent buy-in, despite changes in local government administration, as well

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as more holistic crime and violence prevention strategies. Academic and civil society actors are essential for service provision and are generally incentivized by similar objectives and missions. Public sector entities also make powerful allies. For example, after the local 2018 elections in Morelia, the private sector played a major role in ensuring consistent support for the Civic Justice Model despite changing administrations and priorities. In our experience, these entities (e.g., local business associations) understand that prevention mechanisms are worth the investment given that crime and violence are costly, and frankly, bad for business. A recent study published by JPV estimates that crime had an impact of 1.52 trillion pesos (approximately 76.7 billion dollars) to the Mexican economy in 2018, which represents 6.8 percent of Mexico’s gross domestic product. It estimates that reducing crime by 50 percent by 2030 would save the economy at least 15 trillion pesos, approximately 757.4 billion dollars — representing savings for local businesses and individuals throughout the country.

Implementing civic justice does not need to break the bank. Of course, buy-in is tied to money.

Existing criminal justice measures may seem more profitable for the state and for those within the punitive system that benefit from corruption (e.g., bribes). However, a wealth of scholarly research, books, and academic journals proves that effective crime prevention measures and alternative solutions such as cognitive behavioral therapy save significant costs for local governments. Implementing the Civic Justice Model does imply some spending, but as an effective solution to prevent crime, it saves more costs in the long run. According to JPV technical experts, it may be necessary to initially hire additional practitioners, such as social workers and psychologists, to help judges assess if probable offenders require treatment, e.g., addiction or anger management. Infrastructure is the main cost variable. While Morelia invested in new courts, the municipalities of Escobedo and Tonalá used existing spaces, so infrastructure was less costly.

Effective civic justice isn’t possible without integrated social services. Judges are pivotal to the Civic Justice Model, but they aren’t social workers or psychologists. In other words, integrated services are necessary for a holistic approach to crime and violence prevention. We have encountered two barriers in strengthening service provision for effective civic justice. The first is ensuring that individuals are directed to the right services, relevant to their individual circumstances and needs. For this, we have implemented individualized assessment tools for use when necessary, such as evaluating risk factors in individuals (e.g., history of previous violence or substance abuse) that help social workers provide accurate information for judges to inform decision-making. The second barrier is ensuring that systemic capacity exists to attend to those needs and the high demand that comes from civil courts. Alliances are key. In the best-case scenario, diverse actors work together and invest in a collective vision, as in the example of Morelia – where, beyond the participation of law enforcement, a private-public organization provides addiction treatment; a private university provides cognitive behavioral therapy services and training to police and judges; and a local soccer team provides alternatives to violence for at-risk youth.

To support local efforts to counter violence and curb crime, development implementers should 1) prioritize institutional buy-in, 2) ensure multisectoral participation, 3) advocate for prevention as a long-term solution that represents major cost savings, and 4) integrate social services for a holistic approach. JPV will continue to offer up lessons to the development community to build and sustain peace and stability.

This article originally appeared on chemonics.com/blog.

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THE SMALL BUSINESS CHALLENGE Five Priorities to Strengthen Resilience

PHOTO: Resilient people and businesses in the face of floods in Bangkok, Thailand

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Anticipate, adapt, diversify.

Uncertainty in the U.S. government market requires developing new offerings and diversifying revenue streams. Selling new services to current clients is often the easiest, but when budgets are uncertain, and further potential shutdowns loom, small businesses must adapt. Can you sell your current offerings to new clients – other donors, philanthropic organizations, or even domestic local governments? Building client trust takes time – to anticipate a changing marketplace, now is the time to plan your next steps to adapt and strengthen resilience to changing conditions.

Manage talent and fixed assets.

Fixed costs underpin the financial sustainability of businesses. How can a small business deliver quality services and respond to client needs, while keeping costs down? Outsource back office support, hire consultants to augment staff expertise, and hire part-time staff to deliver needed services and provide scaling options. Leverage cloud services and virtual offices to reduce large monthly cash outlays – shared workspace options provide flexibility. Adjust to the needs of a multi-generational workforce. Plan to be able to expand or contract the business to address the uncertainties and challenges of today’s economy.

Emphasize a systems approach.

Documenting policies, procedures, and systems strengthens small businesses to be more adaptive and resilient to environmental changes and new staff. It’s much easier to plug and play rather than trying to figure out how to tackle a task each time it occurs. As businesses grow, the ability to easily talk to a colleague to see how to do something diminishes and often everyone is trying to figure out how to get something done, rather than doing it. A business can more easily grow and weather challenges if a systems approach is adopted. Reassure clients with strong systems and documented processes.

Plan and prepare for continuity.

Does your staff know what to do if a disaster occurs? Develop policies and procedures and training to prepare the organization to recover more quickly. Emphasize cyber security. Businesses must proactively help staff navigate through the complexities and dangers of cyber issues so that corporate and personal data is protected. It’s not if a situation will occur, it’s when. The more prepared a business is, the faster it can get back online and operate. All continuity preparations are a good investment and a differentiator. The U.S. government is intensifying cyber threat requirements – stay ahead of the game and be prepared.

Manage an inconsistent workload.

As a small business manages subcontracts with short-term work, how do they face the challenges of inconsistent cash flow? This increases the business’ indirect rates due to relatively low billable work and a certain amount of fixed costs; decreases the ability to attract and retain talent, including consultants who may not be available when needed; and makes it difficult to accurately plan. Long-term project personnel help stabilize monthly cash flow. Develop your strategic plan to incorporate winning long-term positions, priming bids, and diversifying the client base to manage ups and downs.

KANAVA delivers development.

As a women-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, KANAVA brings extensive experience in defense, diplomacy, and development. Together, our leadership team works to apply the very best in industry practices to solving the world’s most pressing challenges.

Email us at info@kanavainternational.com.

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