As the politicking revs up before the June 2 elections, it will become almost impossible to block out the torrent of outrage espousing from candidates regarding criminality and the weak impartation of justice in Mexico.
Many candidates aligned with parties in power will attempt to play down the security situation and point to how current policies are working, even in the face of much evidence to the contrary. For this reason, we should expect a rigorous back-and-forth verbal interchange among candidates about how to fix the problem of lawlessness, much of it focusing on promises of investment, police staffing numbers, training, decent wages, police or army involvement, etcetera, etcetera. What the candidates will not mention, however, is how some of the best solutions to combat crime are often developed and put into practice by non-governmental organizations and ordinary citizens, and not ambitious politicians.
One of the keys to reducing crime and the recruitment of youth into criminal organizations is to reduce recidivism rates for young first offenders. The work of NGOs is fundamental in this respect. Since its foundation in 2013, the non-profit organization Reinserta has promoted the care and protection for girls, boys and adolescents in contact with violence, through comprehensive models focused on psychosocial care. Its program Reinserta un Mexicano provides youth in detention centers in Mexico City, the Estado de Mexico and Nuevo León with educational programs, job training, psychological and health support, as well as job placement to help them build a crime-free life and reduce recidivism.
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