Following a meeting yesterday with representatives of the CONEPREC (Industrial Council to Prevent Crime), National Police Chief Manuel de Jesus Perez Sanchez said that a “prophylaxis” of the institution’s ranks would be conducted in order to render the force more professional in technical matters and to strengthen moral values. Perez Sanchez explained the need for agents who know how to handle evidence and treat the scene of a crime. He promised that the reorganization would not be based on retaliation or vengeance, and said that most of the NP’s members were “serious-minded men and women.” Perez Sanchez admitted that the cleanup would be a challenge, but said that they must give clear signals to the population that they are working to meet expectations, and he cited the crackdown on the illicit use of stolen vehicles and the increased patrols of city streets as evidence of the direction they are taking. According to a report in Diario Libre, the details on the purging of the organization’s unwanted elements will be made known today by the NP’s spokesman, Simon Diaz.
Celso Marranzini, a past president of CONEP and the new president of the private sector support group, expressed his concern over the recent number of assaults and robberies. CONEP’s leader, Elena Viyella, echoed this sentiment and said the business council would support the police institution in whatever way necessary. “We all want to live in a peaceful country,” she said.