Worrying: Political scientist asserts that DICRIM has become distorted and is generating fear among the population

Political scientist and left-wing leader Francisco Miguel Herrera stated that the Central Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DICRIM) of the National Police “is an agency that has been distorted and must be completely reformed.”

According to the Francomacorisano social activist and community leader, the entity is a substantive and operational body of the National Police, which was created to conduct investigations using scientific methods, always under the direction of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, where its mission is to collect evidence, identify those responsible, and ensure that court files correspond to solid evidence and due process.

“However, the public perception is far from this institutional definition. According to the National Statistics Office, 66.5% of Dominicans consider crime to be the country’s main problem, while insecurity ranks fourth with 23.3%. Despite official reports indicating a 38% reduction in robberies between 2022 and 2023, 64.5% of citizens say they avoid leaving their homes for fear of crime.” In this context, the actions of the DICRIM are not perceived as a scientific investigation mechanism, but rather as a repressive, extortionate, and abusive body,” said Herrera.

In this regard, the political scientist indicated that the distortion of this mechanism is evident, since instead of generating trust, it generates fear, to such an extent that people feel unsafe when its agents arrive, which contradicts the essence of its creation, which, according to him, is to coordinate with institutions such as the Public Ministry, the Ministry of Women, the Environment, Foreign Affairs, and social organizations to strengthen peace in the sectors where it operates.

Leftist leader Francisco Miguel HerreraExternal source

“The DICRIM must return to its original nature,” he argued.

“Its functions include preserving and processing crime scenes with scientific rigor, ensuring efficient services in line with the public interest, and analyzing the criminal behavior of police officers themselves,” he said.

He also indicated that resources should be allocated to incentivize those who provide valuable information and to maintain constant coordination with its sub-directorates to raise the technical and scientific level of its investigators.

Herrera said that today’s society is demanding a change in the mindset of the aforementioned agency, as he alleges that the General Directorate of the National Police has a responsibility to reorient the DICRIM toward its founding mission, since he asserts that the parent entity of this agency cannot allow a body designed to investigate and solve crimes to become synonymous with fear and repression.