US embassy cable - 04SANTODOMINGO1943

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 001943 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM, KJUS, PHUM, DR 
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC APPROVES NEW POLICE LAW 
 
1. Summary.  As part of the March 2 ceremony celebrating the 
68th anniversary of the National Police, President Mejia 
signed the National Police Institutional Law (Law 96-04), 
also known as the Police Reform Bill.  One of the most 
significant changes under the new law is the transfer of the 
Metropolitan Transport Authority (AMET) agents to police 
control from a transportation function.  Other important 
changes include stricter prerequisites for the police chief 
position, such as 20 years of uninterrupted service to 
qualify, a two-year term limit as police chief, an article on 
gender equality, and a ranking system commensurate with their 
education, experience and time served in grade.  Civil 
society opponents think the law gives too much control to the 
Police Chief, criticizing the law as a "step backwards" for 
not incorporating important initiatives that had received 
public approval.  Although the law has been on the books for 
several weeks, AMET is still headed by former Police Chief, 
Pedro de Jesus Candelier.  End Summary. 
 
POLICE REFORM BILL BECOMES LAW 
 
2. Almost three years after it was first introduced in 
Congress, on March 2 President Mejia signed a new National 
Police Institutional Law, also known as the Police Reform 
Bill.  The new law transfers control of Metropolitan 
Transport Authority (AMET) agents to police control. 
Additional changes include the following: stricter 
prerequisites for the police chief position, a provision 
prohibiting an active duty member of the armed services from 
being named police chief, a provision prohibiting repeat 
terms for the police chief, an article on gender equality, a 
ranking system commensurate with education and experience, 
and a 17-member Superior Council to review infractions.  The 
law defines the National Police as a non-partisan, apolitical 
civil organization that strictly adheres to the Constitution 
of the Dominican Republic. 
 
3. Prior to the its promulgation Senator Tonty Rutinel, 
chairman of the Committee on Interior and Justice, invited 
emboffs for a briefing on the most significant aspects of the 
law.  According to Rutinel, previously police officers who 
were fired or suspended could return to their posts, but the 
new law prohibits such action.  Rutinel said one of the most 
important changes in the law is that it establishes promotion 
precepts, because now officers are required to have four 
years in rank and a clean record in order to be promoted.  He 
acknowledged the rumors that some officers commit human 
rights abuses in order to achieve rank -- a practice he hopes 
will be corrected in part by the new law.  He further 
acknowledged that the article granting police authority over 
AMET was the most contentious, and he appeared bothered that 
other improvements would be overshadowed by the AMET 
controversy. 
 
CIVIL SOCIETY NOT PLEASED 
 
4. Civil society opponents claim the new Police law has 
shortcomings for several reasons, primarily because it vests 
too much control in the Police Chief.  Opponents also believe 
the Government excluded civil society from its deliberation. 
Some argue that the law contradicts measures in pre-existing 
laws such as the Criminal Procedures Code, which replaces a 
Napoleonic system to one more similar to U.S. standards. 
Civil society representatives charge that the law is 
bureaucratically cumbersome, because it creates a Superior 
Council of 17 officials (from law enforcement and other 
agencies) to formulate policy.  This, in civil society 
opinion, threatens the institutionality of the National 
Police. 
 
COMMENT 
 
5. (SBU) Passage of the new National Police Institutional Law 
was long overdue.  Reactions  have been mixed.  AMET chief 
Gen. Candelier had confidently told the press that President 
Mejia would not sign the law; in fact, Mejia did so but on 
the last possible day.  Most agree that reforms were 
necessary but opinions differed on approaches.  It might have 
been more sensible to leave the responsibility of AMET agents 
as a transportation function rather than a police one, but it 
remains to be seen whether the institutions can adapt and 
work together. 
HERTELL