NACVI - Núcleo de Análisis de la Criminalidad y la Violencia

Uruguay faces a complex scene in crime and violence. In the last thirty years the crime has increased more or less continuously in all its main forms, particularly the most violent. The prison situation is no less problematic. Uruguay has one of the highest rates of imprisonment in Latin America, and prison conditions have been subject of denunciation at national, as well as international level.

Even though the regional comparison of indicators usually places Uruguay in relatively privileged place, the public opinion considers crime and insecurity among the country’s main problems.

With the objective of responding to the social demands, recent governments have significantly increased the budget intended for security. However, that effort did not achieve the expected results neither has it resulted in the implementation of long-term comprehensive policies and subjected to evaluation processes. Facing this reality, the public debate is raised in an excessively simple and antagonistic way between those who claim from greater criminal punitiveness, and those who question such measures as ineffective and unjust, but no providing alternatives.

Unfortunately, the contribution from the academy to the treatment of these issues is limited in Uruguay. The criminological research is still incipient, exhibiting insufficient theoretical updating, conceptual ambiguity, problematic use of empirical evidence, lack of explanatory pretensions, as well as scarce capacity to generate clear public policy proposals based on evidence and susceptible to empirical evaluation. This helps explain at least in part, why the weakness of the link between academia and public institutions in the security sector.

The Nucleus of Analysis of Crime and Violence (NACVI) is a research group of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of the Republic. Since its creation in 2007, it has developed studies on various issues such as, youth crime, violence, drugs, and criminal justice system, among others. In addition to applied research, it carries out university extension activities, researchers training and consultancy services.

NACVI is oriented to the production of quality knowledge by taking indistinctively contributions from Sociology, Anthropology, Political Science, Law, Economics, Psychology and Philosophy. This interdisciplinary inclination, as well as the concern for quantitative and qualitative methodological rigor, are its main constituent features.

The Nucleus intends to contribute to the analysis of crime and violence from various fields, such as the academy, the government, and civil society. Its specialized profile claims the plurality of ideas without giving up the logical consistency and the empirical validity. Its social vocation claims the commitment, and tries to render account of specific problems without renouncing independent thinking and free from dogmatism of any kind.

The general objective of the NACVI is to produce scientific knowledge on crime and violence. Along with the academic purpose, it seeks to contribute to the well- informed citizen’s debate, as well as to the development of effective, efficient and fair public policies.

Specific objectives of the NACVI include:

• Consolidate a benchmark space for the analysis of crime and violence in Uruguay
• Produce applied research and consultancy services.
• Promote the training of researchers, students, professionals and specialists with an interest on the matter
• Connect national and international research groups and, at the same time, articulate the academic sphere with public, private and organized civil society organizations.
• Promote studies and evaluations in order to improve security policies in Uruguay.
• Disseminate relevant information on crime and violence

In 2007, three young researchers interested in generating knowledge about violence and crime, coincide in the Department of Sociology of the Faculty of Social Sciences (UdelaR). Nicolás, after having developed research projects related to youth crime and prison policies, returned from Barcelona after completing a Master in Criminology. Emiliano discovered his interest in the phenomenon of insecurity, based on his participation in a research project based on the use of public spaces in Montevideo. Finally, Ana took her first steps in the area, starting with the completion of her degree thesis focused on the link between gender and crime, and specifically, on female crime.

The first opportunity given to work together was the research “Crime and Rehabilitation Policies in Uruguay. The case of the National Rehabilitation Center” coordinated by Francisco Pucci and Nicolás Trajtenberg. The research (2007-2009) was funded by the Sectoral Commission for Scientific Research of the UdelaR. From that time the group has never stopped developing. The challenges increased and were assumed with new colleagues who fortunately decided to join us. The NACVI emerges as a witness to this trajectory.

• Fiorella Ciapessoni
• Clara Musto
• Emiliano Rojido
• Nicolás Trajtenberg
• Ana Vigna