The terrible trade-off: how the hidden cost of organised crime harms cities, and what can be done about it
May 2022
Briefing Note 04
Professor Christopher Blattman, Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) & University of Chicago
Dr Benjamin Lessing , University of Chicago
Dr Santiago Tobón, Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) & Universidad EAFIT
SOC ACE Project: Developing government information and accountability systems for combating serious organized crime: Medellín demonstration project
PUBLICATION SUMMARY
Organised crime poses one of the greatest threats to national security and development in the 21st century. Despite this, most policy, data collection, and scholarly research focuses on individuals and disorganised violence. Our work addresses several critical gaps in knowledge:
What are the incentives for gangs to engage in violence and socially costly behaviour?
Which are the trade-offs that practitioners face when deciding how to engage with organised violence?
What type of information do relevant decision-makers need to inform their policies?
Which are the most relevant tools for tracking down gang behaviour and use of violence?
We address these questions in the context of Medellín, Colombia’s second largest and most important city. Over the past six years, our work has covered a broad methodological spectrum, including:
qualitative data collection through interviews with dozens of criminals and criminal justice experts;
quantitative data collection from thousands of citizens in surveys representative at highly localised levels;
active collaboration with local relevant stakeholders such as the city administration and the local police department;
quasi-experimental evaluations of long-running policies dating back to the 1980s; and
experimental evaluations of marginal improvements in state presence in violent and gang controlled areas.
Our preliminary findings point to terrible trade-offs, where authorities face plausibly impossible questions when balancing short-term gains in violence reduction and sacrifices in state legitimacy, with long-term uncertainty concerning both violence and state legitimacy. We highlight preliminary recommendations for guiding policy decisions.
