NEW DOMINICAN CRIME CONTROL INITIATIVES TAKE

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 002465

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: DR CASC PGOV PHUM SOCI ASEC KCRM
SUBJECT: NEW DOMINICAN CRIME CONTROL INITIATIVES TAKE
EFFECT FOLLOWING SPIKE IN VIOLENCE



1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Thousands of military soldiers joined
police in joint nighttime patrols throughout the country this
week in an effort to quell violent crime and enforce new
curfews on the sale of alcohol. These initiatives, among
others, were implemented by presidential decree this week in
response to growing public outcry over the rising levels of
violence in Dominican society; statistics indicate the
country,s homicide rate has doubled since 2001. In a
meeting two weeks ago with the Ambassador, President
Fernandez cited violent crime along with the electricity
crisis as the two most urgent issues facing the country
today; education, which previously held the number two
position, was barely mentioned. Fortunately rising levels of
violence do not appear to be substantially affecting
Americans in the country, but Americans, like others, are
concerned. The issue is poised to be a contentious one in
the 2008 presidential elections. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) To date the Dominican Republic has managed to avoid
the high levels of violent crime associated with many
countries in the region. In 2001, according to statistics
released by the government,s Office of the Public Prosecutor
(Procuraduria),1,065 homicides were committed in the
country, giving it a homicide rate of 12.49 per 100,000
inhabitants. This compared favorably with other countries in
the region like Jamaica and El Salvador, whose homicide rates
at that time were estimated at 44 per 100,0000 and 60 per
100,000 inhabitants, respectively. The perception that
tourists need not worry about violent crime has been
important to the country,s ability to attract foreign
tourists, who play a crucial role in the Dominican economy.


3. (U) Yet Dominican crime rates have risen precipitously
since 2001, and the country no longer compares so favorably
to its neighbors. Procuraduria data reveals that in 2005
2,403 homicides were committed in the Dominican Republic,
giving the country a homicide rate of 26.41 per 100,000
inhabitants -- more than a two-fold increase over only 4
years. (According to FBI data, the U.S. homicide rate was
5.4 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2004.) The number of
homicides so far this year is more or less consistent with
2005 levels.


4. (SBU) Fortunately, rising levels of crime have not
substantially impacted either the official or non-official
American citizen communities, but they have certainly gotten
their attention. Over the past five years, homicides
involving American citizen victims reported to the Embassy,s
American Citizen Services (ACS) section peaked at 19 in FY
2004, after which they dropped to 13 in FY 2005. We are
aware of 7 such homicides thus far in FY 2006. Numbers of
American citizen victims of other types of violent crime have
remained relatively steady following a high of 29 reported
cases in FY 2004. It is probably noteworthy (as well as
troubling) that in the past two months there have been three
incidents in which American citizens have been the victims of
vehicular armed robberies in the Northern Coastal area; we
had not received reports of this nature on a regular basis
previously.


5. (U) Over the past few months the Dominican public has
increasingly taken to the streets to express outrage over the
high levels of crime. Thousands of demonstrators assembled
over several days in Santiago last June to demand government
action following the murder of 18-year-old student Vanessa
Ramrez Faa. This week hundreds more demonstrated in Santo
Domingo to denounce rising crime levels and express support
for government measures to combat them.


6. (U) Procuraduria statistics indicate that 563 (nearly
25%) of the killings that took place in 2005 had been carried
out by members of the National Police. Although such deaths
are typically classified as exchange(s) of gunfire or
self-defense, this is a difficult premise to accept in
most cases given that only four police ) representing 0.2%
of all violent deaths in 2005 -- were killed in the line of
duty that year. Groups have increasingly objected to the
perceived role police play in orchestrating instances of
violence and crime around the country. For example, protests
erupted this month in Bonao following news that two police
officials convicted of murder had escaped from prison.
Protestors there called upon the Chief of Police to protect
them from their city,s own police force, who are widely seen
as being responsible for much of the city,s crime. This
week in Santiago a protest at the funeral of Luis Manuel
Ventura, a 25-year-old leader in a local leftist
organization, was broken up by a SWAT police team. Family
and friends allege that Ventura had been dragged by police
from a family funeral service and shot in full view of other
mourners.


7. (U) Still other groups have mobilized to denounce
corruption-related murders. The National Association of
Pilots and the Dominican Association of Air Traffic
Controllers have demanded that the National Police intensify
its investigation into the hit-style murder of Angel
Christopher Martinez, who was shot dead while in his car en
route to work. Martinez, a high-ranking official in the
Office of Civil Aeronautics, had been responsible for issuing
permits to airplanes flying in Dominican territory. His
efforts to bring permit issuances into compliance with
international standards had allegedly made him many enemies.
According to his family, unknown intermediaries had
approached him prior to his death, offering him lucrative
private sector positions to leave his job and, most recently,
threatening his life.


8. (U) Violent crime has already become an important issue
among likely future presidential candidates. At a speech in
New York last week, Luis Toral, an aspiring Partido
Reformista Social Cristiano (PRSC) party candidate in the
2008 presidential election, denounced the government,s
(2005) USD $600 million subsidies for millionaire energy
companies while police officers receive salaries of only
RD$2,800 (about USD $90) per month. He called on the
government to utilize the 90,000 members of the National
Army, Navy and Air Force to assist in providing security to
the country. Some say that Pedro de Jesus Candelier, a former
police chief and another 2008 presidential aspirant, will
benefit in the upcoming elections from his law enforcement
background thanks to heightened public concern over crime.
He has spoken out against the government,s approach to crime
control and has criticized plans to integrate military forces
into regular police patrols.


9. (SBU) In a meeting two weeks ago with the Ambassador,
President Fernandez cited violent crime as one of the two
most urgent issues facing the country today (the other issue
was the electricity crisis). During previous meetings
Fernandez had indicated that education was one of the two
most urgent issues in the country. This time education
barely elicited mention, and then only in response to a
direct question from the DCM.


10. (U) With this backdrop, President Fernandez called an
emergency cabinet-level meeting to discuss crime and
delinquency in the country on Monday, July 24. The meeting
resulted in the immediate issuance of a number of
&short-term8 decrees intended to address the growing
violence in the country. These include:

- Approval of plans to incorporate military (Navy and Army)
forces into evening law enforcement patrols. 3,000 soldiers
began patrolling the streets alongside another 3,000 police
on June 25.

- Limitations on the consumption and sale of liquor. These
include outlawing the consumption of alcoholic beverages
while driving and enforcement of curfews (12am on weeknights,
2am on weekends) after which the sale of alcohol in bars,
clubs and corner stores will not be permitted. RSO reports
that on the night the new restrictions took effect, civilian
and military units were out in force ensuring that the
restrictions were enforced.

- Control of motorcycles, which are a favored means of escape
by criminals. License plates and helmets will be mandatory
for motorcycle operators beginning in October 2006.

- Limitations on firearms. The importation of firearms and
munitions will be banned. Illegally held firearms will be
confiscated, and those found bearing them will be prosecuted.

- Redesign of border controls, implementation of systems for
ground, air and maritime electronic surveillance. Embassy
will be investigating this proposal to learn more about
exactly what it will entail.

- Addition of 3,000 new police officers in Santo Domingo and
another thousand in Santiago. Police officers on service in
government offices will be replaced by soldiers. Policemen
found guilty of delinquent acts will be prosecuted; currently
most are simply transferred or released from service.

- Revision of the new Penal Procedures Code. The newest
revisions passed by Congress include modifications to bail
laws and police arrest practices that are intended to enhance
the police,s ability to fight crime. Although President
Fernandez has signaled support for unspecified revisions to
the Penal Procedures Code, it is unclear whether he will sign
off on these specific changes.


11. (U) The President of the Association of Hotels, Bars and
Restaurants, while noting in principle his support of
government objectives, has expressed concern that the new
initiatives could hurt businesses and discourage tourism;
otherwise the public response has generally been supportive.
Newspaper editors at each of the major newspapers have
expressed their support for the decrees, many of which went
into effect on June 25, but it remains unclear how the
general public will respond. There is a well-established
tradition throughout Dominican society of staying out late
and drinking alcohol, especially on weekends, at clubs and
corner-stores known locally as colmados.


12. (U) Civil society has also raised some concerns with the
government,s approach to crime. Armidis Galan, Director of
International Relations at the Military Institute of Human
Rights, voiced her support in principle for using military
units to assist police in law enforcement responsibilities.
Yet she qualified this support with the assertion that
military units needed to receive proper training in order to
adapt to civilian law enforcement responsibilities; they
currently are not receiving such preparation. Villaverde
Gomez, Program Director at the powerful Foundation for
Justice and Institutionalism (FINJUS),believes that the
changes to the country,s Criminal Procedures Code may
represent a step backwards to the days when police forces in
the country acted with impunity. The Father Juan Montalvo
Center for Social Studies has in the past released studies
taking issue with the government,s approach to tackling
violence levels, noting that the Government should first
tackle the underlying social causes like poverty, lack of
medical insurance, and education.
HERTELL