On December 10, 2024, IPA Mexico held the launch event of the Community-based Approach for Reinsertion Program (CBAR) funded by USAID. During this event, the Mayor of San Luis Potosí and IPA Mexico signed a letter of intent to collaborate to reduce youth violence and promote reconciliation with evidence-based programs. The event was attended by Jene Thomas, Mission Director at USAID Mexico; Melissa A. Bishop, U.S. Consul General in Monterrey; Enrique Galindo, Mayor of San Luis Potosí; Juan Antonio Villa, Secretary of Citizen Security and Protection of San Luis Potosí; and Odette González, Country Director of IPA.

Since 2017, IPA has worked closely with municipal police forces in Mexico with two main objectives: first, to document the police forces' organizational capacities to design interventions that strengthen them; second, to design and pilot different evidence-based violence prevention and citizen security strategies, such as targeted deterrence or community-oriented policing.

On this occasion, the Community-based Approach for Reinsertion Program (CBAR), designed in collaboration with USAID, addresses one of the most urgent challenges in our communities: integration of youth at risk and in conflict with the law. Together, we can address this complex problem using strategies that prioritize inclusion and collaboration and involve young people in their design.

CBAR has three main objectives:

1. Building trust and legitimacy by fostering positive interactions between the police, the community, and youth.
2. Creating safe spaces by promoting structured dialogues that allow both parties to express their experiences and work towards reconciliation.
3. Effective coordination, establishing cooperation mechanisms between local governments, civil organizations, and communities.

CBAR will work directly with youth to understand their needs and create specific interventions. It also focuses on key dimensions, such as family, identity, health, and economy, to address the roots of conflict and social exclusion. With this program, we seek to foster resilient communities, where youth find spaces of opportunity and security. We want to transform negative narratives towards at-risk youth, promote their integration, and strengthen trust between communities and institutions.

Timeline of collaboration with the municipal government of San Luis Potosí: 

• 2021 – As part of the Comprehensive Model of Citizen Security, the municipal police of San Luis Potosí took part in the pilot implementation of an information-gathering tool designed to assess the perceptions that neighbors have about their quality of life, the security conditions in their neighborhoods, and their relationship with the police.
• 2022 – 40 members of the municipal police in San Luis Potosí received training in procedural justice, where they were provided with tools to establish positive and productive interactions with citizens.
• 2024 – The municipality of San Luis Potosí is selected as one of the two geographic areas where CBAR will be implemented and San Luis Potosí’s municipal government and IPA sign a letter of intent to collaborate on the project.