The president maintained that public safety is a concern of Uruguayans and the government, and that they will continue working to reduce crimes.
President Luis Lacalle Pou referred to the issue of security and crimes in Uruguay, which he recognized as a “concern of Uruguayans and, therefore, of the government.” “It should call us all to reflect,” he said about the current situation.
The president was consulted last night, in Maldonado, on the crime figures during 2023 presented by the Ministry of Interior in Parliament, which recorded 382 homicides – one less than in 2022 -, 4.4% fewer robberies – 22,390 complaints – and 2.7% fewer thefts – 112,747 incidents -, according to data from the National Observatory on Violence and Crime of the portfolio directed by Nicolás Martinelli.
About, Lacalle Pou referred to this improvement in the numbers of plunders and thefts and indicated disagreement with the number of homicides. “Although homicides have decreased, obviously we are not satisfied. Today the Uruguay rose with the death of an 8-year-old boy. One cannot be satisfied and one cannot resign, that violence cannot be a normal relationship mechanism for Uruguayans,” she indicated.
In that sense, the president assured that the government is doing everything possible in the fight crime. “The numbers are good, but we are talking about people, so when you pass the figures to people, when this type of thing happens it is really unfortunate,” he considered.
In any case, he stated that “we are not satisfied, we are better.”
Regarding public security policy, Lacalle Pou He maintained that they will continue “doing the same job.” In particular, he referred to police intervention with specialized bodies, shock forces and patrols in Peach, Carrasco Cross and Penarol, where “significant pushes of violence” had been recorded.
He was also consulted about the proposal of the senator and pre-candidate of the National Party, Jorge Gandini, for the military to participate as police auxiliaries in internal patrol tasks. The president said that the government is working with the security plan promised in the electoral campaign. “In principle, the law “It enables us to use the Police forces,” he expressed about the idea.
The security strategy of the Ministry of the Interior
In his appearance before the Parliament, Martinelli explained yesterday how the security strategy is implemented through the portfolio.
In that sense, the minister spoke of a “dual approach” strategywhich points both to punishment of the crime as his prevention through understanding and action on its causes.
On the other hand, he highlighted three measures that are part of the security strategy and that will allow homicides to continue to decrease—in 2023 there was one less murder recorded than in 2022, and 50% were due to clashes between criminal groups—: the creation of the Homicide Department in August 2023, depending on the Address of Investigations of the National Police and that will work in a focused way; the recent implementation of shotspotter, an early gunshot detection tool; and the implementation of a program by which teams of “mediators, interrupters and technicians” coordinated by the North American organization Cure Violence will work on reducing violence in two areas of Montevideo.
Source: Ambito
