Protocol for a systematic review: community-oriented policing's impact on interpersonal violent crime in developing countries

Abstract

BACKGROUND FOR THE REVIEW\ud \ud Violence is a global public health problem with complex causes at the individual, family, community and societal levels (World Health Organization [WHO], 2002a). Violence can be divided into three broad categories according to the perpetrator of the violent act: interpersonal violence; self-directed violence; and collective violence (WHO, 2002b). This review will focus specifically on the category of interpersonal violence. Worldwide, the direct impact of interpersonal violence is estimated at 1400 deaths per day (WHO, 2002b) and the economic cost is estimated to be between $95 billion and$163 billion per year (Geneva Declaration Secretariat, cited in Willman & Makisaka, 2010). For victims, mortality, physical and psychological damage, disability, and social problems are immediate and long-lasting outcomes of violence (WHO, 2002a)..