The Vice President of the Republic, Raquel Peña, warned that the Government will not allow crime to overwhelm the country and assured that together with all Dominicans of good will “we will win this battle”.
During the launching ceremony of the Integral Strategy for Citizen Security “My Safe Country”, together with the Minister of Interior and Police, Jesús Vásquez Martínez, Peña affirmed that “change will also be a reality in terms of citizen security”.
On his side, Vásquez Martínez explained that “My Safe Country” has as components the voluntary surrender of weapons, the identification of motorcycles, as well as a set of integral actions that will have a positive impact on the social fabric of this municipality of the Duarte province.
While delivering the keynote address at the event, which was attended by the director of the National Police, Major General Edward Sánchez; the mayor, Siquio Ng; the governor Ana Xiomara Cortés Marte and other government officials, the minister revealed that San Francisco de Macorís was taken as a model for this second intervention because the statistics of the Duarte province indicate that 70% of the criminal acts that are registered in the province correspond to this municipality and that also 89% of the homicides that are registered occur in San Francisco de Macorís.
He detailed that as part of the actions to face criminality and delinquency in this phase four sectors will be intervened, which are: Pueblo Nuevo, Santa Ana, San Martín and Vista al Valle, places where the police presence will be reinforced with 100 new agents, who were provided with bulletproof vests, ten new vans and eight motorcycles.
Meanwhile, through the National Emergency System 911, 64 video surveillance cameras will be installed in San Francisco de Macoris, of the 125 that are planned to be installed throughout the province of Duarte.
“The issue of firearms is fundamental to stop crime and violence, for which we have identified two points for the voluntary surrender of illegal weapons: the Nuevo Renacer club, located in the San Martin neighborhood, and the reception center in Barrio Santa Ana, on Tavares Street corner Guzman Abreu, where an anti-drug NGO operates,” said Vasquez Martinez.
He also announced that for the registration of motorcycles, the Public Works Offices on Frank Grullón Avenue, corner Bienvenido, will be available and that road safety talks will also be given to the motorcyclists.
Auxiliary and municipal police will be trained
“The community will be integrated into this citizen security project, for this we will implement the auxiliary police, which will begin with the training of 75 agents who will be chosen among young applicants from the same neighborhoods of the municipality. This first group will begin training next week. We will also train another 25 young people who do not study or work to be part of the municipal police,” he added.
Training
He stated that in an initial phase 400 young people will be trained in technical areas, 100 for each of the four intervened neighborhoods. This in coordination with Infotep and the Armed Forces Vocational Schools.
“The primary goal is 400 young people, but then we will expand it to more, because in each neighborhood we want to establish 200 young people, starting with 100 from each prioritized neighborhood,” he said.
He added that the Instituto Nacional de Formación Técnica Profesional (INFOTEP) will be giving courses in the areas of residential electricity and computers, taking advantage of the facilities of the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.
He emphasized that the neighborhood councils will also play an important role in this plan, in which more than 300 people from the different sectors will be trained as a Community Citizen Security team.
He specified that the Interior and Police have the support of more than 30 institutions of the State to give support to the execution of works, repairs, social aid programs and educational programs necessary to improve the living conditions of the inhabitants of San Francisco de Macorís.
Vásquez Martínez assured that the different institutions of the Government will be developing integral actions which include, through the Ministry of Public Works, asphalting of streets, sidewalks, curbs and speed bumps.
Meanwhile, the Social Policy Cabinet through its 14-24 Opportunity Proposal and the “My Safe Country” Program will open, in October, three Technological Training Centers for young people from vulnerable sectors between the ages of 14 and 24, located in the province of Duarte at the Castillo Vocational School, Castillo CTC and the Villa Rivas CTC, with the capacity to impact 210 beneficiaries in the first phase.
Other actions
Meanwhile, the General Directorate of Strategic and Special Projects of the Presidency (PROPEEP) will build another 100 houses and repair four clubs: the premises of the Construction Union in the San Martin neighborhood, the Santa Ana Club in the sector of the same name, the Nueva Esperanza premises in Vista al Valle and the Santa Lucia Club in Pueblo Nuevo.
Likewise, the Presidential Commission for the Support of Neighborhood Development will repair 25 roofs of zinc and wood houses, the parks of the four intervened sectors, will refurbish the 27 de Febrero Sports and Cultural Club, and will incorporate 30 to 40 people from San Francisco de Macorís to the institution for different tasks.
EDENORTE will install 136 lighting fixtures in Vista al Valle (73), Santa Ana (26) and San Martín (37).
The Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources will work on the control of noise pollution in the sectors of San Martin, Santa Ana, Vista al Valle and Pueblo Nuevo, as well as on the reduction of water pollution due to the dumping of solid waste in the Jaya River in the Santa Ana sector. They will also work to control environmental pollution in the Vista al Valle and William Mieses creeks in the Vista al Valle sector and the reduction of environmental pollution in the Pueblo Nuevo sector.
The Ministry of Sports and Recreation (MIDEREC) will repair the courts in: Municipal Arenoso, Hostos, Villa Rivas, Club Juan Pablo Duarte, Pimentel, El Abanico, La Garza and El Aguacate.
The Vice-Ministry of Preventive Security in vulnerable sectors will provide training in art, choir, music bands, choral poetry and folkloric dance for the benefit of 417 people.
In addition, courses for sports scorers and referees will benefit 120 people. Also, legal assistance for people without birth certificates, benefiting 4,000 people (800 certificates).
INESPRE will place mobile warehouses once a week in each of the four identified neighborhoods.
CONANI will hold technical workshops with children and parents aimed at strengthening parenting, violence prevention and pregnancy counseling.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Women will implement information, education and communication campaigns on domestic and gender violence, and will provide legal advice and psychological assistance.
The Minister of Interior and Police, Jesús Vásquez Martínez, pointed out that, although the results of these transformations will be seen in the medium and long term, he is confident that with the effort and integration of all the sectors of San Francisco de Macorís, the expected change can be achieved.
“We are working on it and we will continue without rest until we reach the goal, because no government in the Dominican Republic has ever done more in terms of security than President Luis Abinader,” he emphasized.
