Since Chile’s new penal reform went into effect on Jun. 16, Chilean courts have seen an increase in the number of crimes being reported. Officials explain the increase as a show of confidence in the new system.
The Ministry of the Interior recently released crime statistics showing a 2.4 percent increase nationally in reported crimes between July and Sept. of 2005 over the same time period in 2004. The study reported that outside of the Santiago criminal charges fell 2.1 percent while rising 8.6 percent inside the capital city. Santiago accounts for 44.2 percent of the national crime rate, encompassing roughly 37 percent of Chile’s population.
While noting the increase in criminal charges, the report showed an 18.2 percent decrease in the number of detentions around the country. Within Santiago, the report detailed a 42.3 percent decrease in the number of police detentions.
“This is a situation that merits some attention,” said Sub Secretary of the Interior Jorge Correa; there are fewer detentions after the penal reform.” When questioned about the decrease in the ability of police to apprehend criminals he said, “(Congress) hopes to increase police powers to uninhibit officers and allow them to better detain serious criminals.”
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