| | |  News Around the Republic of Mexico | September 2008 
President Calderón Proposes New Anti-Crime Measures
 Presidencia de la República
go to original
| "This responds to citizens’ demands for a more transparent, effective penal system that will really protect crime victims and reduce the scope for impunity."
- President Felipe Calderón | | |
Mexico City - In order to expand the state’s capacity to fight crime, President Felipe Calderón submitted a Bill of Eliminating Ownership and a package of modifications for various legal regulations regarding penal matters and announced a Federal Government decree to formalize and define a reward system for those collaborating in the procurement of justice.
At the Manuel Ávila Camacho Hall of the official Los Pinos Residence, this President said that this meets citizens’ demands for a more transparent, effective penal system that will really protect crime victims and reduce the scope for impunity for criminals.
In this way, he declared, progress will be made towards the application of constitutional reforms to the penal justice system that were approved by Congress and the State Congresses and complies with the commitments acquired by Federal Government as part of the National Security, Justice and Legality.
First of all, he declared that police action does not suffice to stop crime and that it is essential to attack the sources of their economic power through the application of effective laws for this purpose.
"That is why today I am submitting a bill to Congress today on the Elimination of Ownership. In this way, all the assets linked or related to organized crime, drug trafficking, abduction, money laundering, vehicle theft, people dealing, or any other federal crime will be transferred to government," he explained.
Accompanied by Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora, the President said that these resources will be used to form a trust, whose funds will be used to repair the damage to crime victims and provide support and assistance to them.
The aim is to deal a mortal blow to organized crime, drug traffickers, thieves, kidnappers and in general, anyone who commits a crime that deeply affects society," he added.
Secondly, referring to the package of modifications to various penal regulations, President Calderón said that part of the reforms includes strengthening the ability of the police to receive citizens’ denunciations when they cannot be directly made to the Federal State Prosecutor’s Office.
The aim is also to expand the crime of flagrancy and its legal definition, so that criminals may be arrested the moment the commit a crime and just afterwards.
Thirdly, he said that he proposes changes to various laws to reinforce the authorities’ capacity for investigating and punishing crimes.
Fourthly, President Calderón declared that reforms have been proposed to increase the transparency of the procedures of police and legal authorities, in particular to establish the obligation to immediately register arrests.
The fifth point was that he reported that the reforms proposed include measures to expand victims' participation, both at the previous inquiry and the penal process stage and during the phase of implementing sanctions in the case of certain crimes.
As a sixth point, he said that the bill proposes establishing rules to protect crime victims and witnesses to prevent their intimidation by the accused, criminals and their accomplices.
The seventh point included the fact that the aim of the reforms is to regulate anonymous denunciations in order to encourage greater civic participation in pursuing crimes.
He explained that as a result, the Official Federation Newspaper will publish a decree tomorrow establishing the guidelines for offering and paying rewards that citizens provide for investigations and fighting federal crimes.
Lastly, the eighth point is that President Calderón suggested proposing modifications to the Legal Branch to reinforce the obligations to the authorities responsible for procuring and administering justice, adding that crimes against the administration of justice will expand to include the authorities' failure to register an arrest or when the police hold a detainee for a longer period than specified in the Constitution. |
|
| |
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us