When States Kill: Monitor of Lethal Force in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Analysis of Killings by Police and Army Officers

This book presents the results of a year-long research and monitoring program on police use of lethal force in Latin America and the Caribbean carried out by a network of researchers, practitioners and human right activists in the region. It introduces a novel methodological framework for assessing police violence in contexts where legal accountability remains limited or absent.

The core of the methodology is a set of twelve indicators designed to evaluate patterns of lethal force, with particular attention to identifying abuses and enabling cross-national comparisons to highlight both regional patterns and national outliers. Drawing on these indicators, this volume features in-depth country case studies--Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, El Salvador, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Colombia, Peru, Chile, and Uruguay--each offering both national context and application of the framework.

By combining rigorous comparative analysis with grounded national insights, this book provides researchers, advocates, and journalists with a practical and replicable approach to documenting and confronting police violence. It contributes to broader efforts to advance accountability and reform in a region marked by high levels of state violence and the world's highest homicide rates.