The international drug trade, the growing influence of drug cartels, insufficient social services, overemphasis on law enforcement solutions, and the inadequacy of the criminal justice system in Panama have combined to form a combustible mix of factors that have led to a dramatic escalation in crime and violence, created a toxic environment for youth, and compromised the future of a promising country.

Youth represent a pool of fresh recruits for drug-related activity. They are also prime targets for gangs, which have experienced an increase in membership with the rise in criminal activity. Panama is at a critical crossroads where focused and effective prevention programming can have enormous payoffs for the future. 

The objective of the USAID-funded Alcance Positivo program (originally known as Community Youth at Risk) is to reduce the risk factors that lead to crime and violence among young people. The program employs a two-pronged approach:

• Initiating youth development and prevention activities that address root causes of youth crime and gang involvement
• Improving overall coordination and local capacity to better formulate and implement programs for youth at risk. 

ICMA is a member of the implementation team, which is headed by Creative Associates International. The three-year program began in August 2010. 

ICMA is helping targeted municipalities, districts, and the Child and Adolescent Unit (CAPU) of the Panamanian National Police address the conditions that put youth at risk of criminal activity. Specifically, drawing on the community policing model that has been successful in the United States and elsewhere, ICMA seeks to improve coordination among the police and other governmental, nongovernmental, and private-sector stakeholders, including youth, in efforts to promote greater public safety.

The underlying principle of ICMA’s approach is that crime prevention and community security require joint efforts by the police, other government offices and departments, and the community at large. They cannot be achieved by law enforcement alone. ICMA’s role includes:

• Supporting the creation and/or strengthening of municipal committees for the prevention of violence, or CMPVs (the Spanish acronym), in select Alcance Positivo municipalities, including assistance in the development and implementation of CMPV crime/violence prevention plans
• Supporting the creation of community roundtables for the prevention of violence, or MCPVs (the Spanish acronym) in designated municipalities and helping to ensure fluid communication between the MCPVs and the CMPVs so that their crime/violence prevention plans are coordinated
• Facilitating training and planning for CAPU, after first identifying organizational roadblocks and internal limitations to more effective and coordinated programming
• Providing access to a library of best practices and a toolkit in municipal crime and violence prevention, utilizing a web-based interactive platform developed by ICMA as a component of the AMUPREV program.

Alcance Positivo has a website and a Facebook page (both en Español). ICMA program activities have included:

• Working with the CAPU, Domestic Violence and Citizen Security Police, to create position descriptions and develop a field manual on police procedures/codes of conduct for working with youth
• Developing action plans for the MVPCs in Colón, San Miguelito, and Panama City
• Planning and delivering training that emphasizes the principles of community-oriented policing, including training in school resource officer programs and citizen police academies
• Leveraging the activities of AMUPREV to support crime prevention programs initiated by Panamanian cities, such as a Barrio Limpio, Barrio Seguro (Clean Neighborhood, Safe Neighborhood) program in Colón.