A spokesperson for the head office of the Police in the central Cibao region has stated that the crime rate in Santiago is dropping. The National Police reported that the number of deaths per 100,000 inhabitants has dropped from 25 to 20 in the second trimester of the year compared to 2014.
The Police Department said that from April 2015 to the present, 793 cases of homicide, robbery, drug dealing and possession of illegal fire arms have been reported, resulting in the arrest of 587 suspects.
The office noted that 263 people were sent to the National Drug Control Agency for drug related offenses; 87 in April, 93 in May, 32 in June and 51 in July. As far as robbery was concerned, there have been 156 arrests; April 36, May 49, June 33 and July 38.
Illegal fire arms possession resulted in 59 arrests; April 9, May 20, June 8 and July 22. Investigations into homicides led to 30 arrests; 7 in April, 10 in May, 6 in June and 7 in July.
Twenty nine people were arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, 28 for cell phone theft, 12 for forgery, 19 for assault and battery, three for fraud, seven for car theft and eight for motorcycle theft.
In the same time period, 925 music speakers were confiscated; 147 in April, 243 in May, 198 in June and 346 in July