Forward, always forward

The time has come to acknowledge that the security landscape in Chile will never be the same, and we must look to the past only to remember what we were, as we should not aspire to return to the situation of 10, 20, or 30 years ago.

We have let all the red flags pass. Criminal groups operating from prison, the arrival of foreign organized crime in the country, corruption in local and regional governments, an increase in urban violence, a deficit of sovereignty at the border… And why even mention the regional criminal environment?

We have spent more than two years reacting to a threat that knows us better than we know ourselves, where the diagnosis of the weakness of state capabilities and the lack of real coordination among institutions is more than confirmed. We can no longer keep listing figures and watching how homicides increase or decrease. The argument that we are better off than others is also not sustainable. 

The time has come to acknowledge that the security landscape in Chile will never be the same and we must look to the past only to remember what we were, as we should not aspire to return to the situation of 10, 20, or 30 years ago. 

It is time to look to the future and seek answers there. What must not be missing in that premise? Information. Data, data, and more data, hopefully the most perfect we can access, and we must incorporate new tools into that information. This is where technology comes in, especially Artificial Intelligence. 

A data box that interacts with a generative Artificial Intelligence system, working based on questions posed by highly trained analysts, would allow for timely reports, generate patterns, and finally get ahead of crime. 

What does this way of working imply? It necessarily requires interconnection among institutions, services, and state units that fill that box with data, but that is not all; it also requires interconnection with private entities that do the same. It is also necessary to generate levels of access to information and protect that technology. In other words, we must move as quickly as possible toward a modernization of the state that allows us to create these new ways of working.

Given the current context, where organized crime groups have penetrated the state, established themselves in the territory, and control internationally integrated illicit economies, it is very difficult to think that we can eradicate the problem; rather, we must aim to create a balance where the state regains control over the entire territory and reestablishes sovereignty. 

Politically, we need a committed security leader, with the will to take responsibility for what it means to combat organized crime. Technically, we require a full understanding of the phenomenon in all its dimensions. And in practice, politics and technique must communicate fluidly to design a working system that incorporates both areas and allows for the construction of the solid foundations that the state needs to begin a new phase and project itself into the future. 

We can no longer accept explanations; as citizens, we must demand actions.

Pilar Lizana
Senior Researcher, AthenaLab