During the course of recent decades, it became a common trait among Americans to think of Puerto Rico in terms of being a crime-haven, even though Americas mass Medias and this countrys progressive sociologists continue to refer to this tendency as simply another proof of White Americans biasness. Yet, there is nothing biased about statistical data in regards to the criminological situation in Puerto Rico this data invariably points out the fact that as time goes by, perpetrating acts of violence becomes the norm of life among a rapidly growing proportion of Puerto Ricans. In her article With the Highest Murder Rate in the U.S., Puerto Rico Needs Immediate Solutions, available on the website of Puerto-Rico Herald, Taina Rosa provides us with the insight into the true scope of the criminological disaster in Puerto-Rico: More murders occur in Puerto Rico than anywhere in the mainland U.S., according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Once again, Puerto Ricowith a population of 4 millionended the year with an alarming homicide rate, higher than the three-largest cities in the mainland U.S. With 790 murders reported during 2004, the island had a higher murder rate than New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Puerto Ricos mean homicide rate is three times that of the total U.S. mainland and four times that of Europe (2005). Moreover, there are also substantial increases to the annual rates of homicidal crime on the island. In his article Homicide Toll Surpasses 2008 Figures, which can be found on the web site of Puerto-Rico Daily Sun, Waldo D. Covas Quevedo states: The number of homicide
s (in Puerto-Rico) for the current year reached 807 killings, surpassing the total for 2008. The number does not include a handful of murders the Police have not yet counted& Unsolved homicide cases have increased to 61 percent during his tenure in and in some cases have risen as much as 78 percent (2009). At the same time, it would be wrong to think of this situation as such that reflects the lack of professional enthusiasm, on the part of representatives of Puerto-Rican law enforcement agencies. The report Homicides among Children and Young Adults Puerto Rico, 19992003, available on the website of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, leaves no doubt as to the fact that Puerto-Rican police and countrys politicians do apply a great amount of effort in trying to tackle the problem: To address this problem (high rate of homicidal crime), the Puerto Rican government has initiated a comprehensive strategy that includes enhancing an integrated surveillance system for fatal and nonfatal assault, supporting research on interpersonal violence, and establishing local prevention (2006). Therefore, it would only be logical to conclude that the continuous worsening of the criminological situation in Puerto-Rico, reflects country policy-makers lack of conceptual understanding of what causes people to indulge in criminal behavior, in the first place. In this report, I will aim at exploring this thesis even further, while outlining the main principles, upon which Puerto-Rican law enforcement agencies should base their crime-prevention policies, in order to be able to effectively address the issue.