Speaking at a press conference organized by the Santiago Business Association on Tuesday, 5 February, the former President of Colombia, Ernesto Samper Pizano, said that killing criminals is not the way to guarantee public safety.
He said that improving police agents’ standard of living and ensuring they worked more closely with citizens was more effective. He argued that what was needed was a more proactive Police force that worked to prevent crime rather than reacting afterwards. He said that the country did not need more policemen and women. What it needed was better ones.
He went on to say that the most serious problems facing Latin America were drug trafficking, illiteracy and the number of firearms carried by citizens, which had reached more than half a million. Samper said that despite the fight against drug trafficking in Mexico and Central America, it could still increase in the Dominican Republic as the country serves as a transshipment point and many consumers became traffickers.
www.listindiario.com/la-republica/2013/2/6/264934/Samper-dice-que-matar-a-delincuentes-no-garantiza-la-seguridad-ciudadana