"A Path to Justice" in Guatemala

Insight Crime summarizes a report from the Central American Institute of Fiscal Studies (ICEFI) and UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) on "A Path to Justice" in Guatemala.

One issue identified by the report is Guatemala's lack of police. In 2013, there were only 1.8 police officers for every 1,000 people, far below the internationally recommended standard of 4 per 1,000. As such, the report states it is necessary to deploy 40,000 more police officers (bringing the rate to 3.5 per 1,000).

Furthermore, the report calls for improving the country's prison system, which has an overpopulation rate of 228 percent; expanding municipal prosecutor's offices to 53 percent of municipalities; and creating an institute for victims of violence, which would provide legal aid to those who lack adequate resources. The report also recommends rectifying Guatemala's rate of one judge per 18,400 citizens, the worst in Central America.

Carrying out the proposed judicial reform steps by 2023 is predicted to cost roughly $1.38 billion.

Nonetheless, the report emphasizes that Guatemala's Attorney General's Office (also known as the Public Ministry) is hampered from operating efficiently by insufficient resources. During the report's presentation, Mayra Veliz -- the Public Ministry's secretary general -- noted how that, despite Congress approving a 2015 budget of over $143 million, the Public Ministry had so far only received around $94 million of these funds. 

We've been arguing for years that Guatemala does not have enough police officers. It wasn't the first time, but I remember arguing this at a meeting I attended in 2009 in Virginia on instability in the country. Last I looked, Perez Molina added several thousand police officers to the country's police rolls (See here and here). They are still under-trained and under-resourced.  I'm not sure how prepared the country is to simultaneously expand the force, root out corruption within the existing institution, maintain continued training of existing officers, and provide uniforms and weapons to the 35,000 or so that they have today and the thousands more that they need. Expanding the reach of judges and prosecutors outside the capital and the major cities is necessary as well.

There's a long road ahead. While I am rooting for significant progress under Morales, I'll be somewhat satisfied if he leave the country in better than he inherits (What President-elect Otto Perez Molina Inherits in Guatemala and, more or less, what Jimmy Morales inherits).