SANTO DOMINGO. – The Minister of Interior and Police, Faride Raful, affirmed this Monday that the Government remains firm in its commitment to the transformation of the National Police and assured that there will be no impunity regarding police abuses, while acknowledging that citizen distrust toward the institution is part of the diagnosis that supports the reform process.
“Contrary to previous years, we are working in favor of transparency so that there is no impunity,” the official stated during the weekly meeting of the Citizen Security Task Force, in reference to the recent cases of police violence that have generated concern in public opinion.
“It is a cultural change. But we are not going to give up on continuing to try. We will continue working with diligence, commitment, and effort until we transform the National Police into an institution that guarantees the safety of everyone,” assured the Minister of the Interior.
Raful highlighted some of the main advances of the reform, including the graduation of more than 12,000 agents after a training process of more than a year, the strengthening of the Police Institute of Higher Education (IPES) with the participation of specialized academics, the creation of security roundtables, and the incorporation of body cameras (bodycams). Regarding the latter, she explained that “they are part of the transformation process and allow for the strengthening of supervision and surveillance systems. Thanks to this, more cases are coming to light.“
Likewise, he stressed that the Public Prosecutor’s Office is being notified of every incident to ensure that investigations proceed without obstacles.
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The minister also drew attention to the growing incidence of social violence as one of the main challenges for citizen security. She explained that, of the 43 homicides recorded between July 1 and 17, 33 were related to interpersonal conflicts.
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“Combating crime remains a major challenge, but we also have our sights set on social violence, which is currently dominating the causes of homicides,” he warned.
Faced with this reality, he recalled that the Government is promoting the Citizen Coexistence Bill and the First Sectoral Strategic Plan for Citizen Security 2026-2035, conceived to coordinate the actions of all State institutions in terms of prevention.
“These conflicts that cost us lives today are prevented starting from school, from sports, and from public spaces. Prevention cannot be an individual task; citizen security is built by everyone,” he maintained.
Finally, Raful reiterated that police transformation is a long-term process, but assured that the Government will continue to promote it with determination.
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“We are not going to give up on continuing to try. We will continue working with diligence, commitment, and effort until we transform the National Police into an institution that represents the security of all,” he concluded.
