Diario Libre carries a story today on the National Police and its members’ struggle to maintain their principles on the job. The report says that many agents quickly learn that in order to survive in the NP they must keep silent about many injustices. Some, however, are led down a path that puts them into active participation in the wrongdoing, in a system that does not always reward honesty.
The newspaper spoke to three anonymous members of the National Police to compile this article, as each recounted his personal story. One man interviewed, a 20-year veteran of the NP, said that in his town becoming a police agent was one of the only options to escape poverty and, “with luck,” make it to the capital. During training camp, he realized that his superior officer gave them little food and obtained free goods from local businesses in order to hang on to a bit of money for himself. Of the training received, the sergeant said that they were not trained specifically for police duty, but were given military-like instruction focused mainly on barking out orders to sit and stand and “all kinds of humiliations.”
Another unidentified member of the NP interviewed said that one of his first assignments was to a monetary crimes unit. The 25-year-old said that his boss would share his “earnings” with a gang of criminals in the barrio. “I killed a man once, which entitled me to a share of money… If my boss was taking money, why not me?” he said to justify his actions.
The third police agent interviewed had a less treacherous journey through the NP ranks, performing administrative tasks at local police stations. Less jaded than his counterparts, he holds a brighter view of the National Police institution, saying that he likes his job despite the fact he does not earn a lot of money. He acknowledged, however, the National Police’s underside and admitted “he was lucky not to be drawn in.”