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(e.g. gangs, drug dealing, criminal lifestyle). Similarly, those who are already mired in such a subculture
need to receive help so that they can extricate themselves from it, for example, through social work,
rehabilitation programmes and raising awareness of non-violent alternatives.
Certain people are at greater risk of being killed at work because of insecure working environments and, in
some cases, also because of the nature of their profession. The role of journalists in promoting inclusive
and sustainable societies was recognized in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Significantly,
one of the targets of Goal 16 is to ensure public access to information, and one of the indicators associated
with that target is the number of journalists and other media workers killed, tortured and kidnapped, or
who have disappeared or been arbitrarily detained. Journalists will need to receive better protection if this
target is to be realized.
While the level of homicide may drop rapidly when organized crime groups or gangs opt for “truces”, the
only way of obtaining a long-term and sustainable reduction in the homicide rate is by combating
impunity, improving the rule of law and governance, and investing in education
There are examples of homicide rates plummeting briefly when organized crime groups or gangs have
agreed to a truce or become the dominant group in an area and no longer need to impose control through
violence. However, such drops in the homicide rate cannot secure a lasting reduction in violence by
themselves.
There is a strong association between high homicide rates and low levels of convictions for homicide.
Homicide cases that are not “closed” by means of a lawful conviction and sanctioning of the perpetrator
fuel impunity, which in turn can lead to more homicides and overtax the criminal justice system as it
struggles to bring perpetrators to justice. By virtue of its nominal monopoly on violence, the State has a
duty to protect its citizens from violence and punish wrongdoers. This calls for significant investment in
criminal justice resources, particularly in those countries where impunity is rife.
Homicides in prisons are widespread: indeed, in many countries the homicide rate within prison walls
exceeds the rate outside them. Since the State is directly responsible for the well-being of persons in its
custody, high levels of violence and killings perpetrated within a country’s penitentiary system point to a
problem that must be addressed at the State level. Efforts should be made to establish a physically and
mentally safe environment for inmates in prisons. To that end, prison authorities should ensure that
prisoners have access to education, vocational training and adequate health-care services.
High levels of homicide can also be caused by a system that fails to rehabilitate offenders before they are
released into society. Accordingly, one of the most efficient measures for curbing levels of crime, violence
and homicide outside prison is to focus on reducing recidivism through investment in rehabilitation
programmes. Such programmes have often proved effective in encouraging desistance from crime.
Studies of historical trends in homicide rates serve to highlight the vital role played by good governance
and the rule of law, as well as by trusted and professional police and justice systems, in reducing crime and
violence. Moreover, such studies also point to the strong positive effect of participatory socioeconomic
development mediated by policies that promote social cohesion and leave no one behind. As history
teaches us, a governance model centred on the rule of law, control of corruption and investment in human
development through policies that provide universal education, health care and decent public housing –
thereby minimizing social segregation – always succeeds, in the long run, in bringing down the rate of
violent crime.
Investment in socioeconomic development is likely to lead to reduced levels of homicide in Europe and
Asia, but that is not necessarily the case in the Americas
The link between development and homicide is complex. Investment in socioeconomic development tends
to reduce the homicide rate; conversely, low levels of homicide enable socioeconomic development.
However, the relationship is not linear everywhere. In Europe and Asia, the different levels of
socioeconomic development across countries explain their different homicide rates reasonably well;
therefore, development policies in such countries are likely to be beneficial in terms of violence reduction.
This is in contrast to Latin American countries experiencing elevated homicide rates that cannot be
explained by their level of socioeconomic development alone. In
such cases, investment in socioeconomic