The death penalty doesn’t exist in the Dominican Republic, but as crime escalates more policemen, alleged criminals and innocent bystanders have been killed in armed confrontations. A study by the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) reports that since 1997 up to August 2012, 4,069 men and women, including minors, have died at the hands of the National Police.
According to the report, in just three years – 2008, 2009, and 2010 when the head of the police was Rafael Guillermo Guzman Fermin, 1,300 people lost their lives.
A source from CNDH said that the report shows that killing citizens in so-called exchanges of gunfire did nothing to reduce crime, as the main problem was organized crime and corruption.
In the same time period 2,145 police officers were killed, either by criminals or in the line of duty. This year, in less than one month, 10 police officers have died.
Minister of Interior and Police Jose Ramon Fadul has announced that the Medina government will soon be presenting a new bill to Congress for Police reform with the aim of strengthening the discredited service and reducing crime and violence. The media consistently has highlighted the many cases of complicity of police agents with criminals. This month the Medina administration also plans to present its National Security Plan together with the Police Reform bill as a joint plan to attack the root of crime in the Dominican Republic. Specialists from the Inter-American Development Bank, the local Citizen Participation (PC) group and the Foundation for Institutionalism and Justice (Finjus) were consulted by the government for the preparation of these proposals.
www.diariolibre.com/noticias/2013/01/24/i368729_intercambios-llevaron-069-dominicanos-anos.html
http://eldia.com.do/nacionales/2013/1/23/105117/Fadul-dice-plan-incluye-sociedad