In Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic’s top interior and policing official has doubled down on the national government’s pledge to overhaul the country’s National Police, promising zero tolerance for abusive behavior by law enforcement while acknowledging that lingering public skepticism remains a major barrier to meaningful change.
Interior and Police Minister Faride Raful made the remarks following a Monday convening of the Citizen Security Task Force, a gathering chaired directly by President Luis Abinader. Raful emphasized that institutional transparency is at the core of the government’s reform agenda, noting that every formal allegation of police misconduct will be forwarded to the Public Prosecutor’s Office to undergo full, independent investigation, with no exceptions for sitting officers.
The minister also outlined concrete progress the administration has already made on its multi-year reform roadmap. Key milestones to date include the recent graduation of more than 12,000 new police recruits who completed a rigorous 12-month training program, upgrades to the curriculum and infrastructure of the Higher Police Education Institute (IPES), the establishment of localized community security committees to foster closer ties between law enforcement and residents, and the rollout of body-worn cameras for frontline officers— a measure designed to boost accountability and independent oversight of police interactions with the public.
Beyond internal police reform, Raful drew attention to a persistent, widespread threat to public safety across the country: rising social violence. Cording to data shared by the minister, 33 of the 43 homicides recorded nationwide between July 1 and July 17 were traced to unregulated interpersonal conflicts, a statistic that underscores the urgent need for expanded proactive prevention efforts rather than solely reactive law enforcement action.
To address this gap, Raful highlighted two upcoming policy initiatives that will shape long-term public security strategy: the proposed Citizen Coexistence Bill and the 2026-2035 Strategic Plan for Citizen Security. Both frameworks center on violence prevention through cross-sector collaboration, leveraging investments in schools, community programming, recreational sports, and coordinated action across multiple government agencies to address the root causes of interpersonal conflict before it turns deadly.