Mexico
State Center for Citizen Participation of Querétaro (CEPACIQ)
24-02-2020
15-02-2021
15th.
The Citizen Security Observatory is a mechanism for evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of public policies, programs and/or actions of the Government of the State of Querétaro, generated through the proposal of the Citizen Participation Council on Security, which is a mechanism for citizen participation of the State Center for Citizen Participation of Querétaro.
The main objective is the evaluation of the efficiency of the policies implemented by the State of Querétaro.
"We know more, we have more information on the commitment of crime because people report it more often. And, of course, this knowledge allows institutions to be better prepared to do their job" (Mr Juan Martin Granados Torres, Secretary of Government, State of Querétaro, Mexico 2015/2021).
Once the call for its formation was issued, the Observatory was made up of three citizen profiles with specialisations in criminal law, human rights and knowledge of gender violence from a feminist perspective; the results of the analysis of the Observatory were made known to the government authorities responsible for issuing the document.
The Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro is one of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Its capital and most populous city is Santiago de Querétaro and it is located in the north-central region of the country. With nearly 2 million inhabitants, of which almost half live in the capital, the municipality of Querétaro, this state is more or less in the middle of the ranking of the most populous in Mexico.
Starting from February 2020, a mechanism was launched to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the policies, programs and / or public actions of the government of the State of Querétaro: the Citizen Security Observatory. The results of the analysis, with its recommendations and observations, as well as strengths and weaknesses, were also made known to the group of citizens who make up the Citizen Participation Council on Security, which had up to 180 days to analyze all aspects related to the issuance and subsequent implementation of the protocol for its improvement. As for the authorities who knew the results of the analysis, it was decided to take a pause in the publication of the protocol in the official newspaper of the State Government in order to improve and adapt the document considering the recommendations made by the observatory. This is a precedent in matters of citizen participation, where their valuable opinion is taken into account for decision making.
It is an interesting and innovative experience, as it implements a participatory approach in a public policy area where it is not so common. Regarding the evaluation process, it is really difficult to establish an evaluation parameter for a review process and recommendations, however, it would be interesting to evaluate processes and results in order to know the advantages and risks of the implementation that could be useful for future implementations.
Sources (in spanish)
Document 15th IOPD Award
Application form
Website of the Government of Queretaro
Join the OIDP
