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Survey data associated with: What do those who observe crime observe?: Past, present, and future of crime and violence observatories in Latin America and the Caribbean

By Innovation in Citizen Services Division (VPS/IFD/ICS)

This dataset is the primary survey created for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) study "Past, Present, and Future of Crime and Violence Observatories in Latin America and the Caribbean" (the related publication is available in Spanish). It underpins an examination of how crime and violence observatories in the region emerged and evolved from the early 1990s onward.

About the study

Crime and violence observatories are institutions that collect, analyze, and disseminate data on insecurity to inform public policy. The study traces their historical and conceptual development, maps 66 observatories across 18 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, and offers recommendations to improve their design, monitoring, and evaluation. The overarching aim is to strengthen their effectiveness in supporting evidence-based public policies to reduce crime and violence across the region — a core concern of the IDB's work on citizen security and the public sector.

What is included

The collection provides the consolidated survey dataset (CSV) that captures information gathered from the observatories studied. Used alongside the related publication, the data allow analysts to characterize observatories by country, examine their institutional features, and study how their roles and practices have changed over time.

Intended uses

Researchers, policymakers, journalists, and students can draw on this dataset to compare observatory models across countries, identify good practices in the production of crime and violence statistics, and inform the design of new or reformed observatories. It also serves as a replication resource for the analysis presented in the accompanying study.

Access and citation

The dataset is published through IDB Open Data under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license and carries a permanent DOI for stable referencing in academic and policy work.

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Metadata & use

Identifier https://doi.org/10.60966/8aij17v1
License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Related Knowledge Product
Citation

Dammert, Lucia, et al. (2023). Survey data associated with: What do those who observe crime observe?: Past, present, and future of crime and violence observatories in Latin America and the Caribbean. IDB Open Data. https://doi.org/10.60966/8aij17v1
Published date 2023-12-15
Modified date 2026-06-25
Tags/Keywords Crime · Criminology · Legal · Observatory · Violence
Language
  1. English
Temporal coverage 2013-2013
Country
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Honduras
Jamaica
Mexico
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Uruguay
Venezuela
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Guatemala
Region Latin America and the Caribbean
Publisher
Inter-American Development Bank
Author
Dammert, Lucia
Gutiérrez M., Maria Isabel
Martin, Gerard
Paternain, Rafael
Peña, Norma
Inter-American Development Bank
Data collection type Survey Data
Statistical type Cross-sectional Data
Data structure Structured Data
Data notes

What does this dataset contain?

It contains the main consolidated survey (CSV) created for the IDB study on crime and violence observatories in Latin America and the Caribbean, capturing information about the observatories examined in that research.

What is a crime and violence observatory?

A crime and violence observatory is an institution that collects, analyzes, and disseminates data on insecurity in order to inform public policy aimed at reducing crime and violence.

How many observatories and countries does the study cover?

The study maps 66 observatories across 18 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

What is the purpose of the related study?

The study examines the historical and conceptual development of crime and violence observatories and offers recommendations for their design, monitoring, and evaluation, with the goal of strengthening evidence-based public policies to reduce crime and violence in the region.

In what language is the related publication available?

The related publication is available in Spanish.

What time period does the analysis address?

The study traces the emergence and evolution of observatories from the early 1990s onward.

What file format is the data provided in?

The survey data are provided as a single consolidated CSV file.

Who can use this dataset and how?

Researchers, policymakers, journalists, and students can use it to compare observatory models across countries, identify good practices in producing crime and violence statistics, and inform the design of new or reformed observatories.

Under what license is the dataset published?

It is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed

How do I cite this dataset?

Dammert, Lucia, et al. (2023). Survey data associated with: What do those who observe crime observe?: Past, present, and future of crime and violence observatories in Latin America and the Caribbean. IDB Open Data. https://doi.org/10.60966/8aij17v1

Dataset files

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