Editing San Salvador (section)

==Security and crime==
{{Update section|reason=Needs newer statistics reflecting [[Nayib Bukele]]'s actions against crime.|date=January 2025}}
{{Further|Crime in El Salvador}}

Concerns about public safety in San Salvador increased in the late 1980s due to the civil war. Although it was fought primarily in the countryside, during the latter years of the war, guerrillas started attacking the capital city. San Salvador recovered quickly after the cessation of hostilities, but gang ("mara") violence became a problem.

The [[18th Street gang]], originating in [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles, California, United States]], has proliferated in San Salvador. The [[Mara Salvatrucha]] is a rival gang. In 2002 crime rates skyrocketed and the municipal government was unable to combat the rise. Recent efforts by mayor [[Norman Quijano]] to restore public safety have been somewhat successful. Security measures in San Salvador's most troubled Districts (5 and 6, which border Soyapango, and are home to many gangs) included safety campaigns and recreational activities to keep youth from joining gangs. The mayor also initiated a security camera program so the police can monitor the most heavily trafficked areas of the city. The project was launched in the historic downtown and will expand throughout the entire city.<ref>[http://www.elmundo.com.sv/nacionales-/17353-sistema-de-camaras-ya-vigila-san-salvador.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111226172315/http://www.elmundo.com.sv/nacionales-/17353-sistema-de-camaras-ya-vigila-san-salvador.html|date=26 December 2011}}</ref>

{{As of|2011}} San Salvador had managed to reduce its crime rate, and reduce its murder rate to a level lower than that of Haiti, Venezuela,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/VEN.html |title=International Human Development Indicators – UNDP |publisher=Hdrstats.undp.org |access-date=24 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126001557/http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/VEN.html |archive-date=26 January 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Mexico, Guatemala, or Honduras,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/HND.html |title=International Human Development Indicators – UNDP |publisher=Hdrstats.undp.org |access-date=24 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121051728/http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/HND.html |archive-date=21 January 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> although at over 90 murders per 100,000 residents, the per capita rate was more than 10 times higher than major cities such as New York or London.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20536359|title=Who, What, Why: What happened to crime in New York City? |publisher=BBC News Magazine|access-date=29 November 2012|work=BBC News |date=29 November 2012 |last1=Dailey |first1=Kate }}</ref> Also according to a UN Development report, San Salvador has a relatively low robbery rate of 90 per 100,000,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/SLV.html |title=International Human Development Indicators – UNDP |publisher=Hdrstats.undp.org |access-date=24 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304075035/http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/SLV.html |archive-date=4 March 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> compared to [[San José, Costa Rica|San José]], the capital of [[Costa Rica]], which has 524 robberies per 100,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/CRI.html |title=International Human Development Indicators – UNDP |publisher=Hdrstats.undp.org |date=29 January 2010 |access-date=24 February 2012}}</ref>