The Superior Council of the National Police approved a motion to request the retirement of 107 police agents, including six colonels, as part of the ongoing reform of the police institution. According to the report in Hoy newspaper, these officers are being removed from service due to their age.
The council’s resolution was signed by its president, Minister of the Interior & Police Franklin Almeyda, Police Chief and council director Major General Manuel de Jesus Perez Sanchez, Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito and other council members.
It was taken into account that the officers in question are subject to the age and length of service limits, as established in Article 96 of the Institutional Law of the National Police. Certain of the 107 officers have been with the force for 30 to 40 years and the colonels listed include Valentin Marquez Valdez, Angel Maria Rosario Terrero, Melchor Lara Morrillo, Carlos Feliz Suarez, Rafael Rodriguez Alburquerque and Francisco Regino Lantigua. The outgoing lieutenant colonels named were Jose Ambrosio Poche Mora, Fidel Cuevas Florian, Andres Abrahan Gomez Cabral and Ramon Martinez Reinoso. Also among the 107 to be retired are 8 majors, 22 captains, 25 first lieutenants, 18 second lieutenants and 23 second majors.
In a separate resolution, the council approved several new requirements for admission to the ranks of National Police. Resolution 016-04 establishes that new recruits must be high-school graduates and submitted to drug screening, psychological evaluations and competency and aptitude assessment for police work.
Promotions and advancement through the police ranks must follow certain criteria regarding age, conduct and academic achievement that are also established in the law.