President Piñera receives proposals for the National Agreement for Public Safety
The President received the comprehensive document, which includes 150 proposals for fighting crime, and said that he appreciates the body's collaborative approach.
On Thursday, President Sebastián Piñera was presented with the conclusions of the National Agreement for Public Safety, which examines five areas aimed at modernizing the police, strengthening the government intelligence apparatus, monitoring and improving firearms control, highlighting the role of municipalities in public safety and coordination among criminal justice system stakeholders.
The entity, which is comprised of ministers, undersecretaries, senators, congressmen, mayors and representatives of civil society, held 19 sessions beginning on April 6. It engaged with participants from various political and academic sectors as well as representatives from the legal and community sectors in order to reach a comprehensive agreement to achieve profound and far-reaching changes in security matters.
The President remarked, "We worked with patriotism, unity and a shared vision for our country" and said that this is reflected in this wide-ranging proposal and "also in its depth, because it presents very concrete measures, some of which will involve radical changes in the way our country did things prior to this proposal."
The proposed measures include the specialization and further professionalization of security forces, strengthening civil oversight of the uniformed police (Carabineros) and Investigations Police (PDI), and the creation of a National Intelligence Council that reports directly to the President.
"We firmly believe that we must provide our police with better technology and tools and improve our capacity to anticipate incidents and take preventative action," added the President, who presented the initiatives at an event held at La Moneda Palace that was attended by ministers and members of the roundtable.
The proposals also include a thorough restructuring of the weapons registry, increasing restrictions on the purchase and registration of weapons while establishing responsibilities for gun owners and mechanisms for addressing non-compliance. Chile has approximately 753,000 active registered weapons and 230,000 that have been lost, stolen or whose owners have passed away.
These initiatives also highlight the role to be played by municipalities, which will be expected to participate in the fight against crime and provide support to the Chilean uniformed police. The existing coordination between central government institutions and those involved in the investigation and prosecution of crimes will be increased.
"We are committed to turning the proposals submitted by this entity into bills and administrative reforms," said the President.