Brazil is a case in point.
As I discussed last week, extremes of poverty and inequality in Rio de Janeiro have led to a wave of violent crime. Police, under public pressure, respond by killing hundreds of crime suspects every year. If police in Rio could investigate, if victims and witnesses could come forward in safety, if prosecutors could secure convictions, and if judges could resolve cases, crime could be managed. But as in much of Latin America, none of these conditions is met. Crime is out of control.