Peace &
Justice / Rescate Projects
The Problem
Extortion, robbery, rape, assault, and murder at the hand of local gangs and others are the order of the day in Honduras’ poor urban neighborhoods.
Yet most victims never report these crimes, believing law enforcement officials are ineffective and corrupt. Police, prosecutors, and judges have a hard time being effective when crimes are not reported and witnesses refuse to testify. Lack of training and resources and a surplus of cases are further reasons to overlook unprestigious cases where both victim and aggressor are poor.
So crime victims suffer in silence while gang members and others continue to sow terror without fear of reprisal. Occasionally, community members explode in reciprocal violence, brutally murdering delinquents—and occasionally, by accident, innocents. The cycle of violence continues.
Our Approach
AJS’s Peace & Justice project bridges the gap between law-enforcement officials and communities, compensates for deficiencies in police and prosecutors’ abilities, shows victims that crimes can be amply redressed through legal means, and shows criminals that crime does not pay.
P&J thoroughly investigates crimes, forms close ties with victims and witnesses, and carefully plans legal strategies. This enables police to easily succeed in arresting criminals and prosecutors to easily attain their convictions. And by protecting their identities and making sure they only work with trustworthy officials, P&J attains the collaboration of witnesses and victims who would not otherwise talk. Finally, the project provides psychological counseling to violent crime survivors to help them heal the deep emotional scars caused by their ordeals.
P&J focuses mainly on cases in Barrio Verde*, one of Tegucigalpa’s poorer neighborhoods—and at the time the project began, though thanks to our efforts no longer, one of Tegucigalpa’s most violent. Due to our success in this neighborhood, P&J is now looking at focusing efforts on other neighborhoods.
Rescate Project
The Rescate Project uses the same methodology as P&J and works in many of the same communities, but focuses specifically on helping children and youths 18 and under who have survived sexual crimes.
Success
In the four years since AJS began these violent-crime efforts, we've:
Justice for Maura, Accountability for Predatory Prof
Gabriel's Story
Sandra's Story
Laura's Story
Tami's Story
Marķa's Story
Stories of Peace & Justice: Putting a Stop to Violent Crime
Justice for Prison-Torture Survivors
Peace & Justice Project Reduces Neighborhood's Crime Levels by 60%
Historic Conviction in Juvenile Inmates Torture Case
Breaking the Cycle of Violence: Putting an End to Vigilantism
Extortion, robbery, rape, assault, and murder at the hand of local gangs and others are the order of the day in Honduras’ poor urban neighborhoods.
Yet most victims never report these crimes, believing law enforcement officials are ineffective and corrupt. Police, prosecutors, and judges have a hard time being effective when crimes are not reported and witnesses refuse to testify. Lack of training and resources and a surplus of cases are further reasons to overlook unprestigious cases where both victim and aggressor are poor.
So crime victims suffer in silence while gang members and others continue to sow terror without fear of reprisal. Occasionally, community members explode in reciprocal violence, brutally murdering delinquents—and occasionally, by accident, innocents. The cycle of violence continues.
Our Approach
AJS’s Peace & Justice project bridges the gap between law-enforcement officials and communities, compensates for deficiencies in police and prosecutors’ abilities, shows victims that crimes can be amply redressed through legal means, and shows criminals that crime does not pay.
P&J thoroughly investigates crimes, forms close ties with victims and witnesses, and carefully plans legal strategies. This enables police to easily succeed in arresting criminals and prosecutors to easily attain their convictions. And by protecting their identities and making sure they only work with trustworthy officials, P&J attains the collaboration of witnesses and victims who would not otherwise talk. Finally, the project provides psychological counseling to violent crime survivors to help them heal the deep emotional scars caused by their ordeals.
P&J focuses mainly on cases in Barrio Verde*, one of Tegucigalpa’s poorer neighborhoods—and at the time the project began, though thanks to our efforts no longer, one of Tegucigalpa’s most violent. Due to our success in this neighborhood, P&J is now looking at focusing efforts on other neighborhoods.
Rescate Project
The Rescate Project uses the same methodology as P&J and works in many of the same communities, but focuses specifically on helping children and youths 18 and under who have survived sexual crimes.
Success
In the four years since AJS began these violent-crime efforts, we've:
- Achieved 65 convictions for murder, robbery, extortion, and other gang-related crimes,
- Achieved 31 convictions for sexual abuse crimes.
- Come to the rescue of over 80 violent crime survivors
- Reduced the crime rate in Barrio Verde by 60%.
Justice for Maura, Accountability for Predatory Prof
Gabriel's Story
Sandra's Story
Laura's Story
Tami's Story
Marķa's Story
Stories of Peace & Justice: Putting a Stop to Violent Crime
Justice for Prison-Torture Survivors
Peace & Justice Project Reduces Neighborhood's Crime Levels by 60%
Historic Conviction in Juvenile Inmates Torture Case
Breaking the Cycle of Violence: Putting an End to Vigilantism
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