Download Dataset
Download metadata

Informing Citizen Security Policy: An Evidence Gap Map on Policing Interventions Dataset

By Knowledge and Learning Division (VPS/VPS/KLD); Citizen Security Division (VPS/IFD/CIS)

Citizen security remains one of the most pressing development challenges facing low- and middle-income countries around the globe. In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), for example—a region where homicide rates have consistently remained more than three times the global average (UNODC, 2023; InSight Crime, 2024)—crime and violence are estimated to cost approximately 3.4% of the region’s GDP (IDB, 2024), whereas research suggests that bringing the crime level in Latin America down to the world average would boost LAC’s average annual growth rate by 0.5 percentage points (IMF, 2023).

This Evidence Gap Map (EGM) focuses on citizen security interventions led or supported by police agencies, and maps existing impact evaluations and systematic reviews that examine the effectiveness of a wide range of policing interventions aimed at reducing crime, violence, disorder, overall insecurity, and their associated risk factors and underlying determinants. While some previous evidence maps have narrowly focused on specific strategies or contexts, this EGM takes a broader and more inclusive and comprehensive approach, covering a wide range of intervention types, settings, and outcome areas.

The EGM is available at: https://developmentevidence.3ieimpact.org/egm/IDB-policing-egm

By synthesizing rigorous evidence on what works, what doesn’t, and where gaps remain, the EGM aims to inform policymakers, practitioners, and researchers on the most effective uses of policing resources. It is intended to support evidence-informed decision-making, promote more effective allocation of public security investments, and ultimately contribute to safer communities and stronger economies across the LAC region and beyond.

This EGM was developed through a collaborative effort across multiple teams within the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and peer-reviewed, and visualized by the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) in 2025 to ensure methodological rigor and transparency.

Project collaborators include Camilo Acosta, Sergio Britto Lima, Minji Kang, Indira Porto, Rodrigo Serrano Berthet, and Harold Villalba (listed alphabetically).

Show more

Metadata & use

Identifier https://doi.org/10.60966/sij240vu
License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Published date 2025-10-15
Modified date 2025-10-17
Tags/Keywords Policing · Citizen Security · Evidence · Literature · Gaps
Language English
Temporal coverage 1970-2025
Country
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Ireland
Israel
India
Malaysia
Panama
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Costa Rica
Russia
Sweden
Slovenia
El Salvador
Bolivia
Türkiye
France
Trinidad and Tobago
Ukraine
United States
Uruguay
Czechia
Venezuela
Switzerland
Brazil
Bulgaria
Canada
United Kingdom
Chile
Colombia
Denmark
Ecuador
Estonia
Spain
Finland
Greece
Guatemala
Honduras
Croatia
Hungary
Italy
Jamaica
Mexico
Belgium
Publisher
Inter-American Development Bank
Author
Acosta, Camilo
Britto-Lima, Sergio
Kang, Minji
Porto, Indira
Serrano Berthet, Rodrigo
Villalba, Harold
Data collection type Administrative Data
Data structure Structured Data
Data notes

Protocol of the Evidence Gap Map is attached. Critical appraisal of systematic reviews is attached.

Dataset files

Load more

Additional materials

Load more