Fighting crime has become a priority in the DR. From a country where people used to be able to leave their doors open, the Dominican Republic has become the sort of place where citizens have to be on constant alert for crime. Diario Libre publishes figures from the Department of Statistics of the Attorney General’s office showing that in the last six years, the number of violent deaths from robbery, assaults, drug trafficking, and shootings has doubled. In 1999 there were 1,187 reports of violent deaths, increasing to 2,403 in 2005. By 2005, there was an average of around 200 cases of violent deaths per month.
The good news is that violent death cases seem to be on the decline. The numbers of violent deaths per month in 2005 were: 194, 206, 217, 202, 232, 212, 250, 206, 163, 188, 159, 174. According to Police Chief Bernardo Santana Paez, violence has been reduced significantly in the country with a 50% drop in crime over the last few months, as reported by Diario Libre. He said that patrolling in different parts of the capital and other cities, and the “rescue” of police officers who were providing private services and have now been re-incorporated into their normal duties has been successful.This process will continue, said Santana. The police force has purchased 25 new vehicles, and 20 more were provided by President Fernandez.