NewsWhore
06-22-2009, 06:50 PM
Despite continued efforts to reduce the number of violent deaths in the DR, the Attorney General's Office has revealed that there have been 781 violent deaths so far this year, of which 295 were directly linked to violent crimes.
This compares to 774 violent deaths for the same period in 2008. Nightclub disputes, family conflicts, drug trafficking and armed robberies are the main reasons for violent deaths in 2009.
The same report also indicates that police have been responsible for 128 deaths in the last four months, for an average of eight deaths at the hands of police per week.
However, the total is 31 fewer deaths than the number of police-related deaths during the same period in 2008.
Of the total deaths, 709 were men while 69 were women, while 514 of the deaths were gun-related.
The number of violent deaths is somewhat surprising considering that according to Police Chief Rafael Guillermo Guzman Fermin, the police force has increased its patrols by 537%.
Sociologist Ramon Tejada Holguin says that part of the reason crime hasn't gone down is that the measures implemented by the Interior and Police Ministry are repressive, not preventive. He added that the Ministry doesn't have the proper measures in place to reduce the amount of violent crimes in the country.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#13)
This compares to 774 violent deaths for the same period in 2008. Nightclub disputes, family conflicts, drug trafficking and armed robberies are the main reasons for violent deaths in 2009.
The same report also indicates that police have been responsible for 128 deaths in the last four months, for an average of eight deaths at the hands of police per week.
However, the total is 31 fewer deaths than the number of police-related deaths during the same period in 2008.
Of the total deaths, 709 were men while 69 were women, while 514 of the deaths were gun-related.
The number of violent deaths is somewhat surprising considering that according to Police Chief Rafael Guillermo Guzman Fermin, the police force has increased its patrols by 537%.
Sociologist Ramon Tejada Holguin says that part of the reason crime hasn't gone down is that the measures implemented by the Interior and Police Ministry are repressive, not preventive. He added that the Ministry doesn't have the proper measures in place to reduce the amount of violent crimes in the country.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#13)