How InSight Crime Brings the GameChangers Series to Life

InSight Crime’s annual GameChangers series is one of our most important publications.

On a daily basis, we monitor organized crime developments in Latin America and the Caribbean, focusing on the details of how specific criminal economies, groups, and personalities operate.

With the GameChangers series, published at the end of each year, we take a step back and consider the broader criminal trends in the region: What themes can we draw from the year’s events? How will criminal dynamics progress in the future?

The process of creating the GameChangers starts early.

About midway through the year, the editorial team invites investigators to submit proposals for topics to cover in the series. Collaboration is key in this phase — the directors, editors, and investigators engage in open discussion and provide feedback on each idea.?

Most frequently, we look to cover regional criminal trends. For example, in 2024, we analyzed the increased involvement of criminal groups in politics around the region. Chapters can also cover trends in specific countries that were especially noteworthy. Ecuador was a case that caught our attention in 2024, with the government’s militarized gang crackdown drastically impacting how criminal organizations function in the country.?

As the end of the year approaches, the editorial team selects the strongest proposals for inclusion in the series. Next, the editors and our co-directors, Steven Dudley and Jeremy McDermott, discuss the overarching themes that connect the year’s various game changing developments.?

That discussion forms the basis for the opening and closing articles of the series, which look back at the past year and forward to the year ahead.

The writing and editing process takes place over the last few weeks of the year, counting on the involvement of experienced editors and subject matter experts. Our multimedia team creates graphics and audiovisual elements to illustrate the articles, and our communications team prepares a rollout plan to share the series with our audience.?

The GameChangers series synthesizes the region’s biggest crime takeaways in one place, providing a holistic overview of the most pressing issues for anyone interested in the topic.?

Check out the 2024 GameChangers and past versions of the special series in our website, and stay tuned for more upcoming annual publications like the 2024 Homicide Round-Up and 2024 Cocaine Round-Up.