IPA Mexico signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Citizen Security of Mexico City on July 10, 2024. Since 2019, Mexico City's Ministry of Citizen Security has been implementing the Focused Deterrence of Violence (FDV) strategy Alto al Fuego, which aims to reduce gun-related homicides and injuries. This intervention has received technical assistance from Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) Mexico, the California Partnership for Safe Communities (CPSC), and Dr. Rodrigo Canales of Boston University (BU). IPA has worked with the Ministry of Citizen Security in piloting and scaling up Alto al Fuego, providing an approach to organizational change and management, combining and adapting existing evidence of FDV in several U.S. cities.

The adaptation of FDV's principles to the Mexican context required understanding the unique characteristics and dynamics of violence, developing new forms of collaboration with the justice system, the use of data to make decisions and the validation of methodological principles. After a process of close accompaniment, Alto al Fuego now operates in its three main components (Justice, Community, and Direct Communication Components).

In addition, the program collaborates with previously unconnected partners in the Mexican justice system, such as the Mexico City Prosecutor's Office, the Investigative Police, the command-and-control center, the penitentiary system, and other government agencies that provide support to the at-risk population. Today, Alto al Fuego is implemented in three sectors of Mexico City and is expected to expand to other sectors in the coming months, supporting the reduction of gun violence in the city.

The process of collaboration and adaptation of FDV required understanding and addressing the challenges of the Latin American context, which involved understanding the dynamics of violence, developing new forms of collaboration and decision-making, and finally, validating FDV's methodological concepts.

Timeline of Partnership

• 2018 – SSC and IPA begin working to adapt the FDV methodology to the Mexican context
• 2019 – SSC begins implementing some elements of FDV in Mexico City
• 2020 – Full implementation of FDV, known as Alto al Fuego begins, IPA continues supporting in project monitoring
• 2022 – With IPA support to ensure quality and create data analysis capabilities, SSC begins scaling up Alto al Fuego to additional areas in the city
• 2024 – SSC and IPA sign an MOU to continue supporting SSC’s capacity development

Watch a video from the MoU signing here.