In postwar Central America, the case of Nicaragua has represented somewhat of an exception regarding crime and security, especially in comparison with its northern neighbors El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. With significantly lower homicide rates and a higher perception of citizen security according to several population surveys, there have been efforts to explain the country’s security levels through historical, social, political and even cultural factors. Nevertheless, little attention has been given from academia to the specifics of the country’s state security agencies, apart from technocrats’ somewhat abstract appraisal of the National Police’s community policing model. This Master Thesis carries out a thorough examination of the community-policing model implemented by Nicaragua’s single police body, the Policía Nacional. By focusing on the period of 2007-2016, it recognizes the political, organizational, rhetorical and agent-related changes that have arisen inside the state’s political and administrative structures since the return to government of President Daniel Ortega. Turning to Robert Reiner’s classical model on community policing elements as one of the main analytical tools, a wide array of pertinent sources is reviewed and examined in detail, ranging from new police laws to reports, institutional data and crime development statistics. Furthermore, four different expert interviews carried out for the purpose of this document help develop a complete evaluation of the research case. Finally, some primary findings are presented, linking the research with current approaches to community policing projects and the broader initiatives for police reform in Latin America.
