Santo Domingo. – The Minister of Interior and Police, Faride Raful, informed that, together with the Ministry of Public Health, a mental health protocol and a notification system are being developed in health centers that will allow the identification of possible cases of abuse, aggression, and situations of violence.
The objective is that, upon the arrival of injured people or those with signs of transgressions, the authorities can be alerted immediately to facilitate the Police investigation and prevent further tragedies.
“We are working on a design where we are notified of situations that go to health centers, which may indicate that there is a transgression against a minor or a sexual violation or an assault on an elderly person; to demonstrate abuse, so that the Police can investigate with people who arrive wounded by bullets or bladed weapons, so that when they arrive at a health center the Police can also know what is happening to investigate if it was really an accident or if it was due to another situation,” said the minister.
After concluding the 105th follow-up meeting on the Citizen Security Plan, led by Vice President Raquel Peña, she also affirmed that they are committed to preventive work in schools, to have timely information about situations in educational centers that may raise an alert.
“Each of the homicides are not only a challenge for us, but they move all members of this task force from a human point of view because we are fathers, brothers, sons and because we are human beings before authorities,” he indicated.
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Traffic accidents down 54% on the 6 de Noviembre highway, between June and July
Minister Raful reported that traffic accidents registered a 54% reduction between June and July on the 6 de Noviembre highway, due to the reinforced preventive work of the Joint Task Force for two months on that important road, a task that is also deployed on other busy highways, to preserve lives.
He warned that traffic accidents continue to be a headache in the country, taking the lives of mainly young people between 18 and 28 years old. He specified that many of the traffic collisions are linked to illegal crossings and clandestine races.
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He also highlighted that the work of the General Directorate of Traffic and Ground Transportation Safety (Digesett), along with the National Police and the Military and Police Commission (Comipol), has allowed the seizure of motorcycles prepared for calibration and illegal races, which has prevented a greater number of accidents.
Raful deeply regretted the accident that occurred last weekend in the province of La Altagracia, which left multiple people dead and injured. In this regard, he detailed that, according to preliminary investigations, the tragedy was caused by the recklessness of a driver under the influence of alcohol, which, he assured, “should call for reflection and create national awareness about the need to take care of each other.”
In August there were 111 homicides and 887 so far this year
Regarding the homicides, Raful described the cases that occurred in the last few hours as terrible. He specified that, according to what was documented by the National Police until Friday, the figure for this scourge remains at 8.3 per 100,000 inhabitants.
He reported that in August they registered 111 victims of the scourge, bringing the total to 887 so far in 2025; 25 demarcations remain with single-digit incidence, and nine above. Meanwhile, the number of people injured by violence shows a clear downward trend, with 167 fewer cases, thanks to the effectiveness in the operation of the Task Force and preventive work.
The official reiterated that the government’s security policy is based on respect for human rights and social co-responsibility.
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He recalled that more than 100 police officers have been brought to justice this year for misconduct or corruption, as part of the institutional reform.
“The policy of the Dominican State is a policy that guarantees respect for human rights, supported not only by the word of President Luis Abinader, but also by presidential decrees that support the transformation of the National Police,” he emphasized.
