Chilean Communal Councils of Public Security in practice: a documentary analysis

• In Event: The macro and the micro: Holistic Approaches to Criminal Policy and their connection with local environments

Abstract

In 2017, Chile established by law the Communal Councils for Public Security. Notwithstanding some relevant modifications throughout the years, these Councils were already in practice in some municipalities, as included in several governmental programs implemented since early 2000. The Council’s legal enactment defined its purposes, attributions and members, including mandating its establishment across the national territory. During the parliamentary discussion, they were characterised as participatory mechanisms while the law instructed their purpose was to advise the Mayor in public security matters, to promote institutional coordination among state institutions at different levels and civil society in the commune and to contribute to the design and monitoring of the public security policies as defined at the local level.

However, how are these councils being implemented in practice? This article attempts to contribute to answering this question with a documentary analysis of the Communal Council of Public Security’s official records of one of the municipalities of the country. In particular, I will ask: are its functions and attributions being performed? In what ways and to what extent? As a mechanism of governance, how is the interaction between its members, and how are they contributing to the public security policy design and implementation at the local level? What are the topics discussed? For that purpose, I will draw into the ideas of collaborative and participatory governance develped in public policy and the existent literature on security governance.

Author

• Maria Fernanda Díaz Vidal, University of Edinburgh