AN INTER-AMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK (IDB) study says many countries in the region are spending enormous sums in crime prevention, security and supporting their penal systems.
The IDB research conducted in Latin America and the Caribbean estimated that US$261 billion was being spent annually on responding to crime and violence, which represented about 3.5 per cent of the region’s gross domestic product (GDP). 
According to Ana María Rodríguez, manager of the IDB’s Institutions for Development Department, “crime has reached alarming levels in many countries.
By providing estimates of the costs of violence at the regional, sub-regional and national levels, the study will help governments and international cooperation agencies better allocate resources, as well as design better policies to control and prevent crime”. (GE)
Please read the full story in today’s Daily Nation, or in the eNATION edition.
