Death toll high

[NewsWhore]

A total of 1,800 people were killed in violent incidents in the DR in 2009. Of these, 287 deaths were attributed to trigger-happy cops who have come under scrutiny for their "shoot first, don't ask questions later" approach to fighting crime. However, although deaths are high, the Prosecutor General's Office says that violent deaths are down 19% compared to 2008. The year ended with 11 deaths while 2009 began with 19 deaths in its first eight days. Observers, commenting on the increase of deaths at the hands of police, say that police aggression towards suspected criminals has now become a de-facto police policy. One trend that has seen a decline is domestic violence towards women. Although rates had been increasing steadily during the last 5 years, these cases dropped by 32% in 2009, compared to 2008. This year 70 women have died at the hands of their partners, 32 less than in 2009.

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