In 2024, the highest homicide rate among 22 Latin American and Caribbean countries surveyed was in Haiti, with around 62 murders committed per 100,000 inhabitants. Trinidad and Tobago came in second, with a homicide rate of 46, while Honduras ranked seventh, with 25. In the same year, the lowest rate was recorded in El Salvador, with a homicide rate of 1.9 per 100,000 inhabitants. A violence-ridden region Violence and crime are some of the most pressing problems affecting Latin American society nowadays. More than 40 of the 50 most dangerous cities in the world are located in this region, as well as one of the twenty countries with the least peace in the world according to the Global Peace Index. Despite governments’ large spending on security and high imprisonment rates, drug and weapon trafficking, organized crime, and gangs have turned violence into an epidemic that affects the whole region and a solution to this issue appears to be hardly attainable. The cost of violence in Mexico Mexico stands out as an example of the great cost that violence inflicts upon a country, since beyond claiming human lives, it also affects everyday life and has a negative impact on the economy. Mexicans have a high perceived level of insecurity, as they do not only fear becoming victims of homicide, but also of other common crimes, such as assault or rape. Such fear prevents people from performing everyday activities, for instance, going out at night, taking a taxi or going to the movies or the theater. Furthermore, the economic toll of violence in Mexico is more than considerable. For example, the cost of homicide and violent crime amounted to 2099.8 and 1778.1 billion Mexican pesos in 2023, respectively.

Several countries located in Central America and the Caribbean registered some of the highest homicide rates in the Latin American region in 2023. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines ranked first, with around 51.32 homicides committed per 100,000 inhabitants. Jamaica came in second with 49.44 homicides per 100,000 people. The source defines intentional homicide as the unlawful death inflicted upon a person with the intent to cause death or serious injury. When it comes to the total case count, Brazil was the Latin American country with the largest number of homicide victims. Central America and the falling rates El Salvador was commonly named the murder capital of the world for a few years. The inability of previous governments to control organized crime and gangs resulted in the highest homicide rate in the world for a couple of years. Nonetheless, the current administration and the measures applied during the emergency state had an incredibly positive impact in terms of the security of the Salvadorean citizens. But not only El Salvador has seen a considerable reduction in its murder rate in Central America. Honduras and Guatemala are also two great examples of crime reduction, introducing new policies, institutions, and changes to their judicial system to achieve better results. The Caribbean is still ridden by crime Some islands in the Caribbean are not only known as tax heavens, as some nations in the region are considered the main enablers of tax evasion in the world, but also for being ridden by crime. Haiti is one example of the still-rising levels of criminality. As a country with precarious conditions and extreme food insecurity, the homicide rate has been on the rise for almost four consecutive years. Another one is Jamaica, at the top of the Latin American ranking, that has also seen an increase in the youth involved in organized crime due to lack of employment and economic conditions.

Historical dataset showing Latin America & Caribbean crime rate per 100K population by year from 2010 to 2021.

In 2024, the Mexican city of Colima was the second most deadly city in the world, with a murder rate of ****** per 100,000 inhabitants. * out of the top 10 cities with over ******* habitants and the highest homicide rates were located in Mexico.

Among the selected capitals of Latin America and the Caribbean, Port-au-Prince ranked first by far with the highest homicide rate. In total, around 139.31 homicides were recorded per 100,000 inhabitants. On the other hand, Santiago de Chile, Buenos Aires, and Sucre ranked with the lowest rates in the region.

Historical dataset showing Latin America & Caribbean murder/homicide rate per 100K population by year from 2010 to 2021.

Context

Brazil has a very powerful Freedom of Information law which allows any citizen to request any data from the government which is not restricted, and where these restrictions are well defined exceptions. But still, having the right to request the information does not mean it is easy to get it. Bureaucracy and ignorance of the law gets in the way many times. In order to encourage the government to put their databases in order and to inspire people to have the courage to ask the government for information, we made a massive request of information, for the complete dataset of crime data available for the last 10 years, in the biggest city of South America.

Content

This dataset contains structured data about all crime occurrences that have been acted upon by the PM, the main police force in Sao Paulo. The dataset is not consistent in its completeness, as some of the towns comprising the Greater Sao Paulo were slow in collecting full data. It also does not contain the actual historic of each crime report, as that would violate privacy.

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the prompt assistance from the SSP (Secretaria de Seguranca Publica), for providing the data with minimal resistance.

Inspiration

Primarily we would like to see a visualisation of this data, so that the people can have an idea of how crime has evolved in their city, which crimes are more prevalent in which areas, etc. In addition, any model which can predict at what times and where the police is most needed would be helpful, as this can then be sent to the SSP to help them in planning.

The Latin American public safety market, valued at $51.11 million in 2025, is poised for significant growth, exhibiting a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 6.40% from 2025 to 2033. This expansion is driven by several key factors. Rising crime rates across major Latin American cities are compelling governments to invest heavily in advanced technologies for improved surveillance, crime prevention, and emergency response. Furthermore, increasing adoption of cloud-based solutions offers scalability and cost-effectiveness, fueling market growth. The market is segmented by component (software – encompassing location management, record management, investigation management, crime analysis, and criminal intelligence – and services), deployment mode (on-premise and cloud), and end-user industry (medical, transportation, law enforcement, firefighting, and others). The increasing prevalence of sophisticated cybercrime necessitates robust cybersecurity measures within public safety systems, further boosting demand for specialized software and services. Government initiatives promoting digital transformation and smart city projects are also contributing positively to market expansion. However, challenges such as budgetary constraints in certain regions and the need for robust data privacy regulations could act as potential restraints. The significant market share held by law enforcement agencies is expected to remain prominent throughout the forecast period. The robust growth trajectory is fueled by the increasing adoption of integrated security systems offering comprehensive solutions. Companies like Cisco, Esri, Genetec, Honeywell, and Motorola Solutions are major players, leveraging their expertise in advanced technologies to cater to the evolving needs of Latin American public safety agencies. The market is witnessing a transition towards cloud-based solutions driven by their inherent flexibility and enhanced accessibility. This trend is particularly pronounced in regions with improved internet infrastructure. The presence of established players alongside emerging technology providers ensures a competitive market, spurring innovation and driving down costs. Continued investment in research and development of cutting-edge technologies will be crucial in shaping the market landscape and effectively addressing the escalating security challenges in the region. Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Colombia are anticipated to represent significant portions of the market, reflecting their larger populations and higher crime rates. Recent developments include: February 2024: Irisity, a Swedish AI and video analytics software provider, increased investments in Latin America, focusing on public security, transportation, and mission-critical infrastructure. The company supplies technology in countries like Mexico and Argentina and supports emergency services in Ecuador and the Dominican Republic. Additionally, Irisity collaborates with the Uruguayan security firm Grupo Securitas. The regional strategy includes bolstering brand recognition, expanding the team, and fostering partnerships with integrators, resellers, and camera manufacturers., June 2023: Hexagon AB's Safety, Infrastructure & Geospatial division launched a new Citizen Reporting portal for its HxGN OnCall Records suite. The portal allows citizens to file police reports online, search for incident records, request services, and view incident maps. According to the company, this public-facing portal aims to streamline interactions between citizens and law enforcement agencies, increase transparency, and alleviate staffing challenges that public safety agencies and local governments face.. Key drivers for this market are: Increasing Investments in Advanced Cybersecurity Technologies to Protect Sensitive Data, Critical Infrastructure, Stringent Government Regulations to Invest in Safety Measures to Enhance Safety. Potential restraints include: Increasing Investments in Advanced Cybersecurity Technologies to Protect Sensitive Data, Critical Infrastructure, Stringent Government Regulations to Invest in Safety Measures to Enhance Safety. Notable trends are: Software Component to Hold Significant Market Share.

Number, percentage and rate (per 100,000 population) of homicide victims, by racialized identity group (total, by racialized identity group; racialized identity group; South Asian; Chinese; Black; Filipino; Arab; Latin American; Southeast Asian; West Asian; Korean; Japanese; other racialized identity group; multiple racialized identity; racialized identity, but racialized identity group is unknown; rest of the population; unknown racialized identity group), gender (all genders; male; female; gender unknown) and region (Canada; Atlantic region; Quebec; Ontario; Prairies region; British Columbia; territories), 2019 to 2024.

Crime is a major problem in Latin America and the Caribbean. With 9 percent of the world's population, the region accounts for 33 percent of global homicides. This dataset makes extensive new survey data available to help identify what anti-crime policies citizens in the region demand from their governments, as well as who is demanding what and why. This dataset accompanies a recent report on Combating Crime in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Honduras was the Latin American country with the highest femicide rate as of 2023. In that year, it was estimated that around seven women were murdered on account of their gender per 100,000 female population in this Central American country. Chile recorded one of the lowest femicide rates, at 0.4 victims every 100,000 women. In that same year, Brazil registered the largest number of femicide cases in the region.

This dataset is the main survey created for the publication "Past, Present, and Future of Crime and Violence Observations in Latin America and the Caribbean" (Related Publication Only Available in Spanish). This study examines the creation and evolution of crime and violence observatories in Latin America and the Caribbean, starting from the early 1990s. It explores their historical and conceptual development, maps out 66 observatories across 18 countries, and provides recommendations for their improved design, monitoring, and evaluation. The goal is to enhance their effectiveness in supporting public policies aimed at reducing crime and violence in the region.​

Latin America Electronics Security Market size was valued at USD 4.3 Billion in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 8.7 Billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 9.2% from 2025 to 2032.

Key Market Drivers

Rising Crime Rates and Security Concerns: Rising crime rates and security concerns are driving the Latin American electronic security market. According to the UNODC, Latin America accounts for 33% of all killings while having just 8% of the world's population. According to the Inter-American Development Bank, crime costs the region approximately 3.5% of its GDP each year. Electronic security spending increased by 37% between 2020 and 2023. Governments, organizations, and people are all investing in security systems to safeguard assets.

Crime is a major problem in Latin America and the Caribbean. With 9 percent of the world's population, the region accounts for 33 percent of global homicides. This dataset makes extensive new survey data available to help identify what anti-crime policies citizens in the region demand from their governments, as well as who is demanding what and why. This dataset accompanies a recent report on Combating Crime in Latin America and the Caribbean, https://publications.iadb.org/en/combating-crime-latin-america-and-caribbean-what-public-policies-do-citizens-want. Data from Americas Barometer study were collected in 2016–17 and refer to the subsample of 17 countries in Latin America. The IADB–LAPOP–Capital Cities Project includes data collected from 2017, between August and September. A total of 6,040 interviews in seven countries were conducted as part of the project (Chile, Colombia, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay). Methodology and Code variables definitions are available here: https://publications.iadb.org/en/what-public-policies-do-citizens-want-combating-crime-latin-america-and-caribbean-dataset

Context

This dataset looks at the number of movies produced in the United States of America that fall into the "crime" genre between 1985 and 2017 and compares it to violent crime rates of the same time. The time frame was chosen based off of accessible data (The Movies Dataset ends with 2017 and the FBI's CDE tool starts at 1985).

The data for the movies and genres was pulled from "The Movies Dataset" on Kaggle where columns were adjusted and the first two genres were kept. The data was then filtered to only include films released in the United States of America from 1985-2017. Violent crime data and population data in the USA was then joined.

Tableau Public Visualization

Content

movies-to-crime_data_by_population_1985-2017_2023-03-06.csv: This file contains the filtered and sorted data joining together the rest of the included data.

movies_data_cleaned_V2.csv: This includes a large movie dataset that was pulled from the aforementioned "The Movies Dataset" and adjusted for usability for this project, find original dataset here.

population_data_1985-2017.csv: This data was pulled from the World Bank, Population, Total for United States [POPTOTUSA647NWDB], retrieved from FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

violent_crime_rates_USA_1985-2017_2024-03-06.csv: This data was pulled from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's "Crime Data Explorer" tool. Data pulled includes all violent crime 1985-2017. More information concerning how violent crimes are categorized can be found on the Crime Data Explorer's website linked above.

Acknowledgements

All data was sourced via publicly available datasets and linked to above. Special thanks to Kaggle user Rounak Banik for their work creating "The Movies Dataset" which was incredibly helpful.

Inspiration

This project was a side project to gain further practice with tools such as SQL, R, Tableau and spreadsheets. It began with a focus on authors of crime novels vs amount of actual criminals. The project soon morphed into this after a struggle to find usable datasets.

The average for 2017 based on 97 countries was 7.4 homicides per 100,000 people. The highest value was in El Salvador: 61.8 homicides per 100,000 people and the lowest value was in Japan: 0.2 homicides per 100,000 people. The indicator is available from 1990 to 2017. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Latin America Video Surveillance Market size was valued at USD 25.00 Billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 48.02 Billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 8.5% from 2026 to 2032. Key Market Drivers:Rising Crime Rates: Latin America video surveillance market is growing due to rising crime rates, prompting governments and businesses to invest in security solutions. According to the Latin American Public Security Index (2023), countries like Brazil and Mexico reported a 12% increase in urban crime, driving the adoption of CCTV and AI-powered surveillance systems. Key players like Hikvision and Dahua are expanding their portfolios with advanced analytics to detect suspicious activities. Recent news highlights Axis Communications' launch of thermal cameras in Colombia to monitor high-risk areas. This surge in demand is also supported by public-private partnerships to enhance urban security.

As of 2023, Brazil recorded the highest cost of violence in South America. The biggest country in the region, recorded more than *** billion USD PPP in cost of violence this year. Colombia followed with a cost of around *** billion USD PPP this same year. When it comes to cost of violence as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Colombia leads the region.