In a ceremony at the Presidential Palace yesterday evening, Wednesday 20 March, President Danilo Medina, accompanied by Vice President Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez and key government members, unveiled the Comprehensive Citizen Safety Plan. The Plan includes police reform, the implementation of an integrated 911 emergency system, a prevention program called “Live in Peace”, a motorcycle registration and control plan, a road safety system, a drug control strategy, supportive measures via the Attorney General’s office, an arms registration and control plan and an observatory for violence.
President Danilo Medina called on the people to work with him on the plan, saying that it was a great challenge, probably one of the biggest that the country has faced, but that the authorities would work tirelessly to make sure that families could live in peace, and that Dominican youth would have the opportunities they deserved and to which they had a right.
He asked people to trust the authorities, pointing out that there would be new policies to protect both the streets and homes, but that it depended on the cooperation of communities, families and the country’s leaders. He said that neighborhoods should not be living in fear due to a minority that brought terror and chaos, and that they should not allow the streets, squares and parks to be taken over by criminals.
He finished his speech by saying that he wanted a safe and peaceful country where everyone was treated equally by the law and by justice, and reiterated the need for everyone to work together to ensure that the country’s children had the best possible inheritance.
Presidency Minister Gustavo Montalvo presented the plan, outlining details that include the installation of 2,000 surveillance cameras in the National District. He highlighted the principles of the new National Police, which include a bonus system for good work performance. He said that at the moment around 6,000 police officers were working privately and that they would be sent back to the police force to patrol the streets. He also said that in the case of police agents assigned to foreign embassies, they would implement a system of reciprocity, so the embassy here would receive the same number of agents as the Dominican embassy had in their country.
National Police chief Major General Jose Armando Polanco Gomez announced the introduction of a comprehensive model to make the police work more efficiently that would take around eight months, with the objective of reducing crime in the country.
The plan will begin in the five areas where 53% of the population lives and where 64% of crimes are committed n the National District and the provinces of Santo Domingo, Santiago, San Cristobal and La Altagracia (Higuey).
He said they would have 2,000 more police agents who are younger, better trained, equipped and paid.
National Drug Control Agency (DNCD) chief Major General Rolando Rosado Mateo said that all new recruits must pass a lie detector test, which will be repeated each year and that they would also need to report on their income and possessions on an annual basis.
The director of the Metropolitan Transport Authority (AMET), General Juan Brown Perez, said that they would be working with other Ministries to implement a program to regulate the issuing of motorcycle licenses that would start on April 1. He also said that the number of AMET officers would increase this year by 300, with 100 more motorcycles, specifically to increase patrols on the Las Americas and Duarte highways.
Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito said that they were introducing a hi-tech system to process data on criminals and store digital fingerprints, cross-matched with the national identity card (cedula) system.
Minister of Interior and Police Jose Ramon Fadul said that 2,000 new agents would graduate from the police academies every year trained in the new standards, and that this number would increase gradually for a total of 12,000 new recruits over four years. He also announced an increase in salaries and improved working conditions.
Minister Montalvo said the homicide rate is at 23 per 100,000. 58% of the homicides are due to brawls, robberies and assault.
www.listindiario.com/la-republica/2013/3/21/270360/Gobierno-anuncia-Plan-de-Seguridad-Ciudadana
http://presidencia.gob.do/noticia.php?type=release&id=1597
www.acento.com.do/index.php/news/60652/56/Arranca-Plan-Nacional-de-Seguridad-Policias-no-podran-servir-a-particulares.html