Conducting crime research in collaborative criminal governance arrangements in Latin America

• In Event: Roundtable: Latin American Criminology: Finding a Place Amid Global, Regional, and Local Challenges (Sponsored by Division of International Criminology)

Abstract

The purpose of this roundtable presentation is to motivate a discussion about the obstacles and opportunities faced by researchers who study crime in distinct Latin American contexts, where local governance is deliberately shared between state and criminal actors. Although this sort of arrangement is found across the world, its prevalence, magnitude, and reach are particularly acute in certain countries of Latin America. Widespread corruption, weak state institutions, and the robust territorial influence exercised by crime groups and street gangs, entice Latin American politicians and public officials to strike secret deals with criminal actors, which include sharing governance roles and, in some cases, even coercing specific electoral outcomes through voter intimidation and the use of violence. The discussion produced by this presentation will focus on how these conditions impact crime research. Specifically, how they affect data collection, the dissemination of findings, and policymaking. The presentation will also touch on the potential of studying crime under these circumstances in terms of the enhancement of theoretical and conceptual constructs.

Author

• Carlos Ponce, University of the Fraser Valley