In what is being called the “naked truth” about the Police, the findings of the Plan for Democratic Security put the force’s image at an all-time low. It emerges out as a poorly trained and corrupt institution that patrols streets at random, without any maps to guide them and locate the higher risk areas. Police stations do not plan their fight against crime. The performance, which is not very inspiring, is therefore deficient, repressive and associated with the very criminals they are charged with arresting.
The profile of the organization that is responsible for public safety was drawn up by a group of experts that researched the conditions under which the Police operate at the station house level, and which interviewed residents of eight barrios in Santo Domingo and Santiago about their perception of the Police.
According to their analysis, there are not enough police officers, they lack the necessary equipment, and their investigations often depend on informers from the very criminal groups they might be pursuing, due to the fact that community oriented organizations do not often make complaints. The report points out that while the police might say they are working on a case, the researchers could not find out what mechanisms were used in the follow-up work.