NewsWhore
01-25-2008, 03:00 PM
A study done by the Father Juan Montalvo Social Center (BIDESCO) questions the efficiency of the Barrio Seguro security program, put in place in some of Santo Domingo's most dangerous neighborhoods. Jenny Torres, a member of the center's research team, says that the study reveals higher murder rates and criminal activity than presented by the police. Torres says that if you calculate the homicide rate in 2007, including murders committed by the police, the rate is 22.5%, higher than before Barrio Seguro was implemented. She added that the police are interested in presenting figures without acknowledging the murders committed by their own officers. Torres says that a survey of 450 people aged between 16 and 65 was conducted in La Cienaga, Los Guandules, Guachupita and 27 de Febrero neighborhoods. Of these, 73% were female and 23% were male. The survey revealed that even though new police stations have been built and there was an increased police presence in the neighborhoods, 27% of those interviewed didn't even know where the police stations were and only 14.25% knew that new schools had been built. Of the 450 interviewed, only 25.39% thought that safety had improved since the implementation of the program and 4.68% knew that tech centers existed in their neighborhoods.
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