Civic Justice Model: a Great Example for Violence Prevention in Mexico

MONTHLY SUCCESS STORY – FEBRUARY 2020 Civic Justice Model: A Great Example for Violence Prevention in Mexico The Civic Justice Model, From 2016 to 2020, USAID in collaboration with the National Municipal Public implemented by USAID in Security Conference, the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SESNSP, per its Spanish initials), and the National Security Commission collaboration with the Mexican (CNS, per its Spanish initials) have implemented the Civic Justice Model (CJM). Federal Government, has made a The CJM has become a nationwide example in community justice. The positive impact in different regions municipalities of Morelia, Michoacan and General Escobedo, Nuevo Leon are of the country with high rates of the main regions where this model operates, which has allowed them the opportunity to showcase their success at a national level and promote the violence. expansion of the model to other cities. Initially, the CJM was implemented in the municipality of Morelia with the support of USAID, the Municipal Government, and the Federal Government. Due to the technical assistance provided by these public entities, the establishment of development plans, the improvement of the infrastructure of civic courts, and the promotion of public-private partnerships, as well as the creation of a 90 million pesos trust fund, were all possible. As a result, the municipality of Morelia has shared its experience and methodology with other municipalities in the country, such as Uruapan, Manzanillo, and Puebla, to assist in the expansion of this model implementation. Likewise, the municipality of General Escobedo in Nuevo Leon has also been a key actor in the implementation of the CJM. So far, General Escobedo has held 4,223 public hearings, sending 584 offenders to care programs. As a result, only 23 people have relapsed into committing another misdemeanor. This PHOTO: JPV municipality also hosted the first “Workshop for the Implementation of Civic Justice in Municipalities of Mexico.” With the completion of this workshop, 32 A civic judge holds a public hearing in the civic municipalities in the country were able to learn about the components of the court. Morelia, Michoacan. model and implement them with resources from the Security Strengthening Program (FORTASEG, per its Spanish initials). “The Civic Justice is the method to legally proceed with misdemeanors, avoiding them to escalate to With the success and expansion of the model, the municipality of Tonala, Jalisco crimes. It’s a way to cut a criminal path before it also received technical assistance from USAID during 2018 and 2019 for the starts or in its initial stage”. implementation of the CJM. With the experience and knowledge acquired from this assistance, Tonala plans to provide support to 5 other cities: Zapopan, Tlaquepaque, and Lagos de Moreno in the state of Jalisco; Nicolas de Romero — Bernardo León, Specialist in Public in the State of Mexico, and Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes. Security Reform and Criminal Justice, Human Rights, and Development Planning Systems. USAID’s technical assistance was fundamental to the strengthening and promotion of the Civic Justice Model. Due to this assistance, the ability to perform an assessment and an identification of key actors, provide training, regulatory, and infrastructure adjustments, as well as the implementation of public hearings, mediation and police action were all possible. The efforts made in different regions of the country have resulted in a great impact on the treatment of offenders and the prevention of recidivism. Without a doubt, the Civic Justice within Mexico has advanced at a national level and has been strengthened through the experiences and lessons learned from cities that know first-hand unique challenges within this area. The Civic Justice Model is an innovative strategy aimed at quickly and transparently solving community conflicts and, as a consequence, preventing the escalation of violence. .

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