Insecurity, the issue of greatest concern to Uruguay in the elections

The question of security is the one that most worries Uruguayans and will become the focus of debate before this year's elections. A study by the company Equipos reveals that Seven out of ten Uruguayans consider the issue of security as the highest priority, followed by unemployment (four out of ten). The new Code of Criminal Procedure (CPC), which has been in force since 2017, is being criticized by the political spectrum for providing alternatives to imprisonment for minor offenses and, although has been changed, it is always questioned.

And in the middle of the cross between the accusations between the opposition and the government on the causes of violence, police unions also join the demonstrations.

While last year, the number of police officers killed as a result of criminal acts had reached six, so far this year, two cases were recorded: one for one event family and the other when the police officer is defended during a robbery.

These cases, along with other attacks on the police during various operations, led to various police guilds, such as the Union of Police Unions (Usip) and the Police Union of the United States Police. Uruguay (Supu) to call a march for Wednesday. in the center of Montevideo, under the slogan "Not a policeman less"The protest is intended to demand more guarantees for police action and that officials" do not end up in court to be prosecuted for fighting off criminals " .

In dialogue with InfobaePatricia Rodriguez, president of the Union of Police Unions (USIP), said that "the crime feels more unpunished," noting that under the laws in force, the police officer feels that "the crime feels more unpunished," noting that, under current laws, the police officer feels that he is not supported in his actions.

For Rodriguez, who is also president of the Union of Police Officers of Montevideo, the society of recent years is more violent, resulting in the looting continues to grow, accompanied by the clashes between drug traffickers to win areas to operate. Since this is an election year in Uruguay, he warned that "security should not be a political bastion", but almost all parties wishing to become presidents have the issue at the top of their agenda.

The arrival of Giulliani
The former mayor of New York, now a security consultant, broke into this complex scenario. Rudolph Giuliani. He arrived in Uruguay with his team of advisers, hired by the People's Party, a political group that has two years of creation and a voting intention estimated at 8%. Giulliani met in November 2018 with the authorities of the Uruguayan Government and stressed that Uruguay "the situation has not gone out of control but it is bad enough", and it can get worse in a few years if principles such as "zero tolerance" are not applied.

"Giulliani has fulfilled an advisory task in adapting it to the national reality.It is from this experience that I have saved the most, it is the concept of zero tolerance for criminal justice. ", did he declare. Infobae Public Security graduate, Robert Parrado, Councilor of the Popular Party.

As explained this retired psychologist and retired police commissioner, the concept of zero tolerance is one of the keys. "When a criminal is arrested, he is clbadified as a primary, but it is paramount because he was arrested, but you do not know how many crimes you have committed before, so you must stop to be one. " It should be noted that the new Code of Criminal Procedure (in force since the end of 2017) allows negotiated alternative sentences for the primary "which is not positive because criminals have a thousand ways out of prison". The so-called zero tolerance is based on apply a severe sentence, regardless of the scale of the crime.

Parrado also claims that "the policeman has become a target because of his weapons and his bulletproof vests, he is often attacked by criminals and these weapons and vests of great value are in the hands of different gangs. and even in Brazil, where they have been detected, and as crime progresses, as has been the case in other countries, organized gangs, such as drug traffickers, may target the police. "
The government's vision

The University College of London presented a report at a meeting with businessmen last December on President Tabaré Vázquez's statement that, without the implementation of the new Code of Criminal Procedure ), the flights went down 30% as planned by the government. Vazquez said: "If the new CPP had not been implemented here, and if the extension is done taking into account the value of the slope (NDR: in reducing the number of crimes) By the beginning of 2018, we would almost comply with the 30% Robbery Reduction ", a promise made at the beginning of his second term in 2015. In 2017, robberies had decreased, but in 2018, they "had increased dramatically, dramatically, dramatically" said Vázquez, which coincided with the entry into force of the new CPP, which allows the application of alternative sentences to be able to exempt criminals from jail who commit robberies.

On the other hand, the Minister of the Interior, Eduardo Bonomi, makes particular reference to clashes between drug traffickers when he badyzes the evolution of the number of murders. Bonomi said in a report published on the Red21 website that 58% of 2018 murders in Uruguay were due to criminal acts, 12% were domestic violence, 9% related to gender-based violence, 12 %, the cause is unknown and 9% for robbery.