Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean can find themselves much better off in terms of increased investment, enhanced productivity and GDP growth if they can find effective ways of significantly reducing crime, according to the findings of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) study published in December last year. Asserting that crime and violence have long been a “top-of-mind concern for households across Latin America and the Caribbean,” the study cites “United Nations data” which, it says, points to the fact that the region “accounts for nearly half of the world’s intentional homicide victims, despite representing just over 8 percent of the global population.”
