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[24/10/2006] - A lack of social investment and ineffective governmental institutions dedicated to child and adolescent security are aggravating factors for the vulnerable situation of children and youths in El Salvador, according to the 2005 Annual Juvenile Criminal Justice Report, issued by Fespad (Fundación de Estudios para la Aplicación del Derecho) recommending the development of national policy on youth that is multisectorial and participative. Poverty, violence and displacement are, according to the report released late August 2006, a few of the factors afflicting children and youths in El Salvador. Children and youths complain of being targeted with repressive policies that the government justifies in name of curtailing rising crime, although unsupported by statistical data. Of the 5,578 youths below 18 detained, 43.24% are held without proof of illegal association, constituting arbitrary detention. El Salvador was the nation in Latin America with the highest levels of violence in 2005, with 3,812 intentional killings and a homicide rate of 55.5 per one hundred thousand inhabitants. “We need state action to design and implement national youth policy that includes the contributions of civil society, city halls and local communities,” said Ricardo Montoya, one of the research coordinators, who talked to Comunidad Segura about the main aspects of the 2005 report. According to the 2005 report, most teen offenders commit crimes against property - do you think this information will have an impact on how youths are treated by society and government in El Salvador? The issue will certainly come to the fore since Salvadorians tend to see crime and teen offending as the main problem in the nation. According to survey results, youth and crime are considered one and the same. This view is reinforced by both the government and part of the media, as a way to avoid discussing issues such as job policies, the failures of the educational system, the lack of recreational activities and high availability of guns among other topics. Has any progress been made? By conducting a critical enquiry we are forced to recognize the little progress that has been made on this issue. In this respect our research has detailed the government programs and policies of crime prevention and reintegration, their concrete results, an effort we have carried out independently of the media hype and government propaganda. There has however, been very limited progress. According to the report, the Mano Dura and Super Mano Dura plans are responsible for new behaviour among the pandillas. Could you explain? To put it in general terms, mass and arbitrary detentions have forced the pandillas to develop more effective organizations, to improve communications among the different gangs across the nation. The pressure to cater to the various needs of gang members and their relatives has also led to extorsion as a way of life. One gang member speaks on the telefone, another demands cash and a third collects the money. If one refuses to pay up, another will impose reprisals, if one of them is detained, the rest of the group will retaliate. Another consequence is heightened dispute over the drugs markets across the nation. The gangs have developed a very efficient structure, as a result, transportation companies are torced to pay protection fees, or their vehicles are targeted. Does this mean that the Mano Dura plans and similar state repressive tactics have backfired? The answer to that question is very complex, and we are now compiling the results of new research on the issue, in which gang members themselves tell us about their organizations and actions. It was a very difficult undertaking since gang members have currently been forced to go underground. According to the report, plans of a different nature such as the Mano Amiga, and Mano Extendida (Friendly hand, and Outreach plan) have amounted to no more than propaganda. Are there any concrete results? Very little. The introduction of the Mano Dura, Mano Amiga and Mano Extendida plans resulted in mainly media circuses, directed at those in friendly nations who could make financial contributions for implementing these plans. It is regretable that there has emerged a market and a discourse on the part of the government and cooperation agencies that spend millions without granting any direct benefits to large segments of El Salvador’s excluded youths. What does Fespad see as the future of youth and armed violence in the nation? Many of the issues facing us have been outlined in the Proposal for a Criminal Policy in El Salvador in 2005 (original in Spanish). We propose the employment of multisectorial action, community policing, national and municipal preventative policies, the restructuring of law enforcement and the strengthening of key institutions devoted to children and youth in the nation. We need to contemplate the economy and taxes, so that we can gather resources. Even that however, ultimately, is less important. It is vital that we first of all accept that change is imperative, and its strong political overtones has electoral consequences.