ABSTRACT
Homicide is probably the only type of violence where the quality of indicators is good enough to define targets and to monitor progress at a global, national and regional level. Evidence from many places in the world suggests that reductions by about 2.5% per year – needed for a 50% drop in 30 years - are feasible and realistic. A public policy framework for achieving such a goal needs to overcome the traditional cleavage between the more micro-level evidence typically produced by randomized trials and the macro-level evidence of what drives population-level differences. I will suggest three universal mechanisms that have been involved in any major homicide decline and that can guide policies aimed at reducing homicide: Better governance and the rule of law; the promotion of selfcontrol and discipline; and cultural change towards higher civility. These stipulated universal mechanisms must be translated into actual prevention strategies.