Radio Campaign Demonstrates the Impact of Criminal Justice Reforms in Peru

July 2014

Since May, Peru’s local radio stations have been broadcasting a series of 15-minute shows about the country’s ongoing criminal justice reforms. The 16 episodes, which the ABA Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) developed in collaboration with Peruvian experts, cover various topics, including the presumption of innocence, victims’ rights, the roles of the public defender and the national police, and citizen arrests. Designed to raise public awareness of the accusatorial criminal justice system that Peru began implementing in 2006, the episodes demonstrate how the new system affects citizens’ day-to-day lives. Each episode introduces a legal concept and then utilizes hypothetical cases and interviews with judges, prosecutors, police officers, defense attorneys and public defenders to illustrate the topic clearly and simply. The shows also share tips on how citizens can utilize the justice system to assert their rights. You can listen to episodes one and two below. 

The radio campaigns have been well-received by ABA ROLI’s local partners. Dr. Dante Terrel Crispin, president of the Superior Court of North Lima, commended the shows’ design. “These [radio] programs are easy to understand,” he said, praising the combination of accurate information about the reforms’ impact and the expert explanation by those who apply the new rules daily. As a testament to the radio programs’ perceived usefulness, in May and June, the superior courts in seven Peruvian judicial districts signed memoranda of understanding with ABA ROLI to support the radio shows’ broadcast in their respective regions.

Thus far, nine radio stations have broadcast in five judicial districts, reaching citizens in both metropolitan and more remote parts of the country; and the two stations with available data estimate that the programs’ airing on their station reached more than 60,000 listeners as of July. The shows will continue to be broadcast on existing partner stations and on forthcoming partner stations. Additionally, ABA ROLI is creating television shows that will present similar information and guidance.

ABA ROLI has been working in Peru since 2012 to support the country’s criminal justice sector, including by training judicial actors. The awareness campaign includes several forms of outreach and was designed both to foster broader understanding about the changes ushered in by the reforms and to solidify buy-in from the judicial sector and the public about those reforms. The campaign began in April 2013 with public service announcements tailored for those in four regions—Arequipa, La Libertad, Lima and San Martín—that reached an estimated 46,000 people. ABA ROLI’s work in Peru is supported by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

To learn more about our work in Peru, contact the ABA Rule of Law Initiative at [email protected]