The rector of PUCMM University, Monsignor Agripino Nunez Collado has called for the urgent need to revise the Penal Procedures Code to avoid the practice of criminals being promptly released from arrest. The revision, Nunez Collado told Hoy newspaper, would establish whether the way the Code is currently applied may be behind the increase in violence in the country. Nunez Collado complained that people who are sent to the police or justice for crimes are often back on the street only a few days later. “We have to revise the combination of things that are happening in our society,” he stated. “We need to look into if the Code is contributing to this. Then the authorities, starting from the Supreme Court of Justice, need to take pertinent measures to establish whether this is contributing to the increase in the unprecedented level of crime in this country.”
He stressed that when the police arrest someone, even while flagrantly breaking the law, the accused is sent to justice, but is back on the street a few days later. He explained that many of these people are repeat offenders and that the police is complaining about this, about the easy release of those with criminal records and repeated crimes.
Nunez Collado says that Dominican society is experiencing the most insecure situation in its history, and this should not be downplayed, as the Chief of Police, General Benardo Santana did recently.
Monsignor Nunez pointed out that we are no longer talking about petty crime here. He said that the worst that could happen is that a general state of paranoia where people don’t want to go out anymore. “When you go to the supermarket and are suspicious of everyone, that could lead to a psychosis that Dominican society certainly does not need,” he said.
He expressed his concern that violent happenings are not only restricted to evening hours, but now happen at any time in the day. He called the attention to the authorities in charge of law and order.
Agripino said that the National Police needs to review the methods they are using and act with intelligence, and Dominican society needs to think about how everyone can work together to confront this problem.
Regarding the judiciary, he said that time and again he has heard complaints about people going to a police station and reporting a crime, in the presence of the accused, yet no action is taken, because the victim is the only witness, so the suspect criminal is then set free.