Regional Partnership for Decentralization and Local Governance in the Americas

Municipal Partnerships for Violence Prevention in Central America

Quarterly Report XVII October 2013 to December 2013

Prepared for the U.S. Agency for International Development Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean Office of Regional and Sustainable Development

International City/County Management Association (ICMA) Cooperative Agreement Award No. RLA-A-00-09-00050-00

Isabelle Bully-Omictin Tel (202) 489-2780 Program Director Municipal Partnerships for Violence Prevention

Ms. Brennan Dorn Assistance Officer’s Technical Representative USAID/W/LAC/RSD/DHR USAID 1300 Pennsylvania Ave, NW RRB 5.09-075 Washington, DC 20523 (202) 712-5942

Subject: Cooperative Agreement Award No. LAG-A-00-98-00060-00 Municipal Partnerships for Violence Prevention in Central America

Dear Ms. Dorn,

In compliance with 22 CFR 226.51 (d), Monitoring and reporting program performance, ICMA is pleased to submit the following report for the subject cooperative agreement.

• Quarterly Report XVII – October – December 2013

If you have further questions about the technical content of these reports, please contact me directly. For administrative matters, please contact Lisa Lau at (202) 962-3650. For contractual matters, please contact Mr. Krishna Sob (202) 962-3504.

Sincerely,

Isabelle Bully-Omictin, ICMA

Regional Partnership For Decentralization and Local Governance In the Americas

USAID Quarterly Report XVI

October through December 2013

Table of Contents

I. Introduction II. Major Accomplishments/Progress Towards Results III. Challenges/Remedial Actions Taken IV. Proposed Activities and Expected Results for the Next Quarter

Annex 1: Boletín AMUPREV – October-December 2013 Annex 2: Sistematización del Proyecto de Atención Temprana (GRIP) Annex 3: Informe Conversatorio Ciudadano en Mixco

I. Introduction

ICMA has designed a program that began on October 1, 2009 which focuses on two key objectives: (1) to promote comprehensive municipal-based violence prevention strategies and programs with key Central American stakeholders and foster development of regional peer knowledge networks; and (2) to provide training and technical assistance to local governments and community groups, in coordination with national police efforts and other municipal-based programs.

ICMA has worked with key institutions in the region to promote the first objective and engage in outreach. We developed a Toolkit for municipalities to use to promote the creation of municipal-led mechanisms to provide leadership in bringing together key stakeholders to design and implement crime and violence prevention programs. We have facilitated the participation of experts in national, regional and international conferences and conducted workshops for municipal associations and municipal stakeholders. We have developed a website (www.amuprev.org) which showcases daily examples of municipalities throughout Latin America which are taking the initiative to develop programs that are building the foundation for crime prevention in their communities. Furthermore, we have documented via video the experiences of 8 municipalities in Central America which have demonstrated a commitment to crime prevention through the leadership of their elected officials, the dedication of their police forces and the collaboration of representatives from all sectors of civil society, as well as national government agencies. We have shared these videos through our website and at events and workshops throughout the Region.

To accomplish Objective 2, ICMA has engaged in a series of municipal partnerships with cities in the US to share the model of community-oriented policing and governance with municipalities in El Salvador and Panama. Through these partnerships, police officers, municipal staff, community and private sector representatives from Santa Ana, California; Arlington, Texas and Pinellas County, Florida, have provided information, training and technical assistance to their counterparts to bring about a greater awareness of the need to prioritize and act upon violence and crime prevention programs in a coordinated and comprehensive fashion. The lessons learned and knowledge gained from the municipal partnerships have been shared with the broader network through the AMUPREV website.

In September 2012, USAID issued a six-month extension to ICMA through March 29, 2013. Subsequently, USAID issued a no-cost extension to ICMA through April 30, 2013 and another cost extension through September 30, 2013. During the last year of the Program, ICMA continued to support both objectives. ICMA applied the tools and methodologies tested throughout the first Phase of this Cooperative Agreement to new municipalities in Guatemala and El Salvador; provided continuing support to the Municipal Crime and Violence Prevention Committees of Palencia and Santa Catarina Pinula, Guatemala; provided continued strategic support to Nahuizalco and Sonsonate, El Salvador; continued to share information and practices with its established network of violence prevention and other interested practitioners in the Region; developed a sustainability plan to maintain the network after project end; and facilitated the sharing of the Youth Services Eligibility Tool developed by the City of Los Angeles Gang Reduction and Youth Development (GRYD) Office with stakeholders in Guatemala and Honduras.

In October 2013, USAID issued a two-year cost extension to ICMA to continue our work with supporting the creation and strengthening of Municipal Crime and Violence Prevention Committees in Guatemala and El Salvador. In addition, ICMA will strengthen the Municipal Association Network for Violence Prevention in Central America and the Dominican Republic (the “Red”) formed in August 2013 so that it becomes a sustainable network which carries on the work of AMUPREV in the Region.

This report summarizes activities and major accomplishments carried out during the period of October to December 2013.

II. Major Accomplishments/Progress towards Results

A. Summary of trips in current Reporting Period: Oct to Dec 2013

Trip No. 60 –Oct 22 – 26, 2013 El Salvador – Carlos Loría-Chaves Purpose: Provide technical assistance to Nahuizalco to approve tax adjustment to fund municipal crime prevention programs; coordinate with USAID/ES Mission and its CVP Program to support a new municipality and meet authorities in Suchitoto to define if AMUPREV can provide technical assistance to them.

Trip No. 61 – Oct 28 – Nov 1, 2013 Guatemala – Carlos Loría-Chaves Purpose: Provide technical assistance to Mixco, Santa Catarina Pinula and Palencia’s CMPV and evaluate conditions to start supporting Cobán.

Trip No. 62 – Nov 4-9, 2013 Santa Ana, USA – Carlos Loría-Chaves, Francisco Astacio Purpose: Provide technical assistance and logistical support to the delegation visiting Santa Ana, CA from Guatemala to learn about community policing strategies.

Trip No. 63 – Nov 12-16, 2013 El Salvador – Carlos Loría-Chaves Purpose: Visit municipalities and COMURES; provide technical assistance to Nahuizalco and Suchitoto, and coordinate activities for the Red with COMURES.

Trip No. 64 – Nov 18-22, 2013 Washington, DC, USA – Isabelle Bully Omictin Purpose: Meet with USAID to discuss work plan and monitoring and evaluation plan.

Trip No. 65 – Nov 19-23, 2013 Guatemala – Carlos Loría-Chaves Purpose: Present AMUPREV to authorities in Coban; provide technical assistance to Municipal Commissions for Crime Prevention in Palencia, Santa Catarina and Mixco, present MOU draft to ANAM

B. Accomplishments by Objective

Strategic Objective 1: Promote comprehensive municipal-based violence prevention strategies and programs with key Central American stakeholders and foster development of regional peer knowledge networks.

Intermediate Result 1.1: Orientation and information provided to local government, law enforcement, and civil society representatives on municipal-based violence prevention.

➢ Integrate website and other ICT The AMUPREV web site (www.amuprev.org) continues to be updated daily with news (http://www.amuprev.org/noticias.php) and articles related to municipal-based violence prevention. Quarterly bulletins continue to be prepared, posted on the website and on Facebook, and sent by email to more than 1900 stakeholders in the Region. (See Annex 1 for copy of this Quarter’s Bulletin)

The new Website and a logo for the “Red de Asociaciones Municipales de Centroamérica y República Dominicana para la Prevención de la Violencia” (Red) have been designed and will be shared with USAID next Quarter.

➢ Below are the statistics of the AMUPREV site traffic during this Quarter. The number of visitors in December dropped but that is likely due to the Holidays. The percentage of visitors from the US increased from November but the percentage of visitors from Central America and other countries in Latin America decreased. The same pattern can be seen in previous years around this time.

CONCEPTO SUBTOTAL OCTUBRE NOVIEMBRE DICIEMBRE Visitas 1,900 1,918 1,639 Páginas por visita 2.53 2.41 2.84 Tiempo por visita 2:13 2:06 2:41 Páginas visitadas 4,802 4,625 4,657 Noticias 59.43% 58.91% 58.69% Página principal 4.15% 7.00% 11.22% Experiencias 15.00% 11.94% 9.82% Municipales Varias 11.27% 13.86% 11.80% Index 4.89% 3.49% 4.63% Publicaciones 5.26% 4.80% 3.84%

Origen de Centroamérica 63.26% 60.32% 58.94% Visitantes Estados Unidos 10.05% 9.43% 11.35% Otros 21.21% 23.98% 22.81% (Latinoamérica)

CONCEPTO SUBTOTAL OCTUBRE NOVIEMBRE DICIEMBRE Otros 5.48% 6.27% 6.90%

Objetivo de Búsqueda general 68.50% 61.80% 61.19% búsqueda Búsqueda directa 19.25% 22.90% 24.22% Búsqueda por 12.25% 15.30% 9.21% referencia Otros 0.00% 0.00% 5.38%

Correos Confirmados 1,860 1,917 1,924 electrónicos Contactos 1,409 1,486 1,516 Facebook Consultas y 0 0 3 solicitudes de publicaciones vía Facebook y correo electrónico

Intermediate Result 1.2: Regional peer network(s) established and municipal coordination mechanisms strengthened.

➢ Establishment of Network of Municipal Associations to Prevent Violence in Central America and the Dominican Republic

During this Quarter, a memorandum of understanding was drafted for each of the member associations of the Red. The AMUPREV Director, Carlos Loría-Chaves, traveled to Guatemala to discuss the draft with the Executive Director of the Association of Municipalities of Guatemala (ANAM). The Executive Director agreed to present the revised MOU to the Board of Directors during its Annual Conference in January 2014. AMUPREV was invited to present its methodology during the Conference as well as maintain a booth, as in previous years.

Strategic Objective 2: Support comprehensive municipal-based violence and crime prevention programs in select municipalities

Intermediate Result 2.1: Training and technical assistance provided to pilot local governments and community groups, in coordination with national police efforts and other municipal-based programs

1) El Salvador

➢ Mejicanos –

o Launch of Communications Campaign

In November 2013, the Municipal Prevention Council of Mejicanos launched its communications campaign with support from AMUPREV. Specific activities were launched in several communities to raise attention to issues related to prevention and in particular violence against women. Special materials were produced with funding from AMUPREV, including calendars (at right), car stickers, shirts, banners for electrical posts and balloons. In addition, a video of the campaign was produced and can be accessed on the AMUPREV site.

➢ Nahuizalco—

o Delivery of Tablets to winning students in GRIP Program in Centro Escolar San Genaro and Centro Escolar Prof. Jorge Alfredo Mendoza in Sonsonate and Centro Escolar Los Lucas in Nahuizalco

Six students from each school who were the highest performing in accordance with the indicators established for the GRIP Program were awarded a tablet in a ceremony at each school.

The school Director of Nahuizalco commented that because of the involvement of various institutions in the program, including the municipality and the police, the experience had built up the trust between police in particular and students and their families. This is especially true in Nahuizalco as police officers are engaged at the school in promoting sports and other activities. AMUPREV staff conducted an evaluation of the programs in all 3 schools with teachers and administrators and Annex 2 includes a summary of that evaluation and a systematization of the GRIP in Nahuizalco and Sonsonate, with lessons-learned for future implementation.

o Technical study on options for financing and sustaining citizen co-existence and violence prevention

The proposal for the adjustment of rates in Nahuizalco to raise additional revenue to support prevention programs aimed at youth and adolescents was presented to the Council in October 2013. The Council requested that some changes be made. Firstly, they decided not to eliminate the fees on those services where collection had been very low or negligible, but rather to take them into account and improve collection practices. In addition, the Council wanted to review and update the distribution of spaces in and around the new market. A new analysis is thus being conducted and will be presented again to the Council during the first Quarter of 2014. Once approved by the Council, the AMUPREV Communications Coordinator will work with Nahuizalco to develop a communications campaign to help the Mayor and Council explain the

8 revised structure and the benefits of increased revenue for the municipality. ICMA will involve the CMPV of Nahuizalco in the campaign.

➢ Assistance to new municipalities in El Salvador—

Pursuant to discussions with USAID/El Salvador, AMUPREV selected Suchitoto as one three possible municipalities in El Salvador to receive support for their municipal crime prevention councils during the Extension period. AMUPREV staff presented the Program to the Mayor of Suchitoto and members of the Municipal Violence Prevention Council in November 2013. AMUPREV staff is coordinating with the existing USAID-funded Crime and Violence Prevention Program (CVPP) and PREPAZ (The General Directorate for Social Violence Prevention and Culture of Peace of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security) and during the next Quarter will conduct a diagnostic of the Violence Prevention Council in Suchitoto to determine with all key stakeholders the type of support which will be provided.

Although initially USAID/El Salvador had considered providing support to El Paisnal and Aguilares as well, a final decision on whether to move forward in assisting these municipalities through the CVPP is pending and thus AMUPREV did not hold any meetings with either municipality during this Quarter. ICMA has also identified two additional municipalities, San Bartolomé Perulapía and San José Guayabal, which are on the road to Suchitoto and which Suchitoto officials have told ICMA have had an increase in crime and violence, which is of great concern to them. Although these municipalities are not on the initial USAID/El Salvador list for CVPP support, ICMA believes that providing assistance to them would be of great benefit to Suchitoto. ICMA indicated this possibility in its Work Plan submitted to USAID on December 2, 2013, and will discuss with USAID/El Salvador during the next Quarter.

2) Guatemala

➢ Palencia—

o Support to Municipal Violence Prevention Commission:

During the Quarter, ICMA continued to support Palencia in the development of its Municipal Violence Prevention Plan which will be ready next Quarter. The Commission used the information received from the Youth Conversation last Quarter to inform the Plan, as well as the results of a victimization survey conducted by the Unit for the Community Prevention of Violence (UPCV) of the Vice-ministry of Violence and Crime Prevention. ICMA also discussed a plan with the Commission to reach out to NGOs and other municipal departments to ensure that the Commission is more representative. The Commission has been very active in the community. Among the different

9 activities include “Palencia Canta” organized by the Youth Committee; the painting of the Mural of the Municipal Stadium (see above) with the participation of youth from the Proyecto Barrilete, with support from the Municipal Transit Police and the National Civil Police, and the march on November 25, which the Commission held to mark the day to end violence against women.

➢ Santa Catarina Pinula –

o Support to the Municipal Violence Prevention Sub-Commission of the Santa Catarina Pinula Security Commission

During this Quarter AMUPREV helped the Sub-Commission finalize its Strategic Plan and Work Plan for 2014. The Plan was presented to the Mayor and Council. At the presentation, the Mayor made some requests for changes; thus the final version of the Plan will be ready by next Quarter.

The Sub-Commission is preparing to support a Youth Congress scheduled for February. Youth from Ministerio Pasos de Gigante will be coordinating the Congress with the Sub-Commission and helping with strategy and logistics. A special sub-commission will be created to focus on the organization of the event. The AMUPREV Country Technical Coordinator is working with the Sub-Commission to identify support for the Congress from the private sector and other institutions. The Grupo FUNPAD (Fundación para las Adicciones) has agreed to help with the development of a school for parents (Parents Academy). The idea for the school came from the visit to Santa Ana (see below).

o CityLinks Exchange visit to Santa Ana

In November 2013 a delegation of representatives from Mixco, Palencia and Santa Catarina Pinula traveled to Santa Ana, California for a CityLinks exchange. An MOU was signed with Santa Ana recognizing the ongoing partnership with Palencia and Santa Catarina and inaugurating the partnership with Mixco. The ICMA City Manager, David Cavazos, was present at the signing, along with the Acting Police Chief, Carlos Rojas.

The delegation included the following: ✓ From Mixco: Deputy Director for Security and Prevention, Rafael Velasco Díaz; and the Social Development Promoter, Isabel Perez Rodriguez ✓ From Santa Catarina Pinula: Municipal Police Director, Roberto Del Aguila Tello; and Chief of Operations of the Municipal Transit Police, Francisco Morataya Flores ✓ From Palencia: Municipal Transit Police Director, Alfredo Lemus Castro; President of the Network for the Protection of Youth and Adolescents, Manual Santizo Pacajoc; and Community Relations Specialist for the National Civilian Police, Israel López y López. ✓ From AMUPREV: Communications Coordinator, Francisco Astacio; and AMUPREV Director, Carlos Loría-Chaves

As in part visits, Santa Ana officials and staff provided the delegation with the opportunity to learn from and interact with administrators of the Kidworks Center and the Ever Green Cedar

Center, both focused on children and youth, providing them with life skills and support in school, health, nutrition, etc. The participants also learned how Santa Ana police officers implement the community policing philosophy in their daily activities, including when they are on patrol and responding to calls, as well as through additional activities such as Parents Academies and the Youth Police Explorer Program. They also visited the SAPAAL (Santa Ana Police Athletic and Activity League) which caters to a nearly 100% Hispanic community.

➢ Mixco–

With support from AMUPREV, members of the newly-formed Mixco Municipal Prevention and Security Commission defined the strategic areas that will frame the development of the municipal prevention plan and work plan. The strategic areas included the following: 1) social development; 2) community development; 3) confidence-building between police and the community (community police); and 4) perceptions of safety/security (implementation of the Mixco-Seguro Program). The two members of the Commission who travelled to the US during the CityLinks exchange contributed ideas based on what they had seen in Santa Ana, in particular the strategies that the city and police have implemented to successfully reduce crime and improve safety. The Commission will use the results of the Victimization Survey conducted by UPCV and Comunidades en Desarrollo in 11 zones of the municipality to inform the strategic plan, as well as the results of the Conversatorio Juvenil conducted in September. (See Annex 3 for report on the methodology used in the Conversatorio).

➢ Cobán–

In the preparation for its Extension Proposal, ICMA had held discussions with the USAID/Guatemala Mission to identify additional municipalities to apply the AMUPREV methodology. Based on those discussions, ICMA decided initially to work in Cobán, a large municipality (about 95,000 population) and the capital of the department of Alta Verapaz in central Guatemala.

In November 2013, the AMUPREV Director presented the Program to the Municipal Security Commission, the Governor of Alta Verapaz and other municipal officials (mayor and council members). The Commission agreed to call a meeting in January to create a Sub-commission for Violence Prevention. During the meeting, the Governor also asked ICMA if AMUPREV could support the neighboring municipalities of TacTic and San Juan Chamelco as they are part of the larger Cobán metropolitan area. Discussions will be held with USAID/Guatemala next Quarter to determine if AMUPREV can incorporate the two additional municipalities into its program.

III. Challenges/Remedial Actions Taken ICMA is waiting to hear about the trip to Brazil to identify the specific activities that we will be engaged in with this component. In the meantime, ICMA is continuing to operate under the SOW of the extension and is awaiting approval on the Work Plan for Year 1 of the Extension and the revised M&E Plan for the Project.

IV. Proposed Activities and Expected Results for next quarter – Jan-March 2014

1. Continue working to support the Security Commissions with a focus on Violence Prevention in Mixco, Santa Catarina Pinula and Palencia to help them draft/finalize/present their municipal violence prevention plans and work plan 2. Approval of Municipal Plans for Crime Prevention in Santa Catarina and Palencia). 3. Meet with USAID/El Salvador to discuss support to Suchitoto and an additional two municipalities. 4. Work with the CMPV and Municipal Council of Nahuizalco to develop a communications campaign to educate the public regarding the new ordinance related to fees and permits1 5. Meet with USAID/Guatemala to discuss support to Coban and two additional municipalities 6. Identify and contract consultant to work with Ayutuxtepeque to develop a risk map with community leaders. 7. Submit redesign of website with “Red” logo to USAID for review 8. Meet with Municipal Association Directors from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and the Dominican Republic to review MOU related to the Red and obtain approval (signatures) from the Board of Directors of each Association. 9. Contract an assistant to coordinate logistics and communications with the Municipal Associations 10. Conduct trip to Brazil to identify specific activities to be conducted under AMUPREV 11. Continue to update website daily and Facebook account; prepare and disseminate quarterly bulletins.

1 Pending approval by the Council of the new Ordinance.