The National Police reported yesterday that the Metropolitan Transport Authority agents (AMET) would be used to combat crime as well as control traffic. AMET director Major General Pedro de Jesus Candelier called the transfer a “jump into an abyss.” As reported in Hoy, Candelier added that the general public was opposed to the transfer of AMET agents to regular police force control. Former AMET boss Hamlet Hermann said the measure was “stupid” and that there would be a renewal of the corruption whereby traffic agents ask for money to forget violations. The Foundation for Institutionalism and Justice (Finjus) called the Police Reform Law as approved by Congress a “step backwards” in the process of renovating law enforcement because it did not incorporate important initiatives that had received public approval. Police spokesperson Colonel Ramon Francisco Rodriguez Sanchez told the press that police will have “operational control” over the squad. “Administratively, the unit will continue to work as it does now, with the same profile of new agents, and the agents just as they are now,” he said.