During the ordinary session this Tuesday, the National Assembly (AN) approved in second discussion the draft Law for the Partial Reform of the Law on the Statute of the Investigative Police Function.
Deputy Nicolás Maduro Guerra, when taking the right to speak during the debate, specified that the Scientific, Criminal and Criminal Investigations Corps (Cicpc) is “a silent, but fundamental column of the Republic.”
He said that, when talking about the police force, we are talking about “justice that is rigorously investigated, crimes that do not remain in the shadows and a State that assumes its responsibility when it comes to protecting the people with truth, professionalism and legality.”
Maduro Guerra indicated that the Cicpc is not only a police force, but “it is a scientific, technical and human institution, dedicated to clarifying the facts, to seeking the truth with evidence, with method and with respect for the law; In a country that today more than ever is committed to peace, doing good research is not a luxury, it is a moral and democratic necessity.
The parliamentarian highlighted that “there is no true peace if crimes go unpunished, nor justice if the truth is distorted.” He stressed that each investigation that the Cicpc carries out has the greater purpose of providing answers to the people, the victims, the families and the communities.
“Responses that allow wounds to be healed, restore trust and reaffirm that in Venezuela crime is not tolerated, but it is not fought with arbitrariness, but with intelligence, conscience and adherence to the law,” he said.
He emphasized that talking about the Cicpc is “talking about human rights; Investigating rigorously means respecting due process, the presumption of innocence and respect for human dignity. It means that the truth is not extracted by force, but is built with scientific evidence; that justice is not revenge, but balance between the rights of the victims and the constitutional guarantees of all citizens.
He maintained that, for the Venezuelan people, the Cicpc represents “institutional trust” and that the State does not look the other way when it comes to investigating a crime. Maduro Guerra highlighted that Cicpc professionals – often in difficult conditions, especially in recent times as a result of the blockade and sanctions – work with vocation, discipline and commitment to the truth.
«Today, from this National Assembly, we recognize the men and women who serve the nation from the silence of the laboratory, from the crime scene, from technical analysis, from patient and responsible investigation. Citizen security is not built only with strength, but with intelligence, ethics and humanity. As long as there is an institution like the Cicpc, which investigates truthfully, with science and respect for the people, Venezuela has a firm basis to continue building a more just, safe and humane society,” he concluded.
Referred to the National Executive
During the ordinary session of parliament, the director of the Cicpc, Commissioner Douglas Rico, as well as officials from the police force as special guests, were present.
For his part, the first vice president of the AN, deputy Pedro Infante, ordered that the law be sent to the national Executive for the purposes of its promulgation. He explained that the purpose of this legal instrument is to regulate the entire operation and internal dynamics of the Cicpc, and he formally delivered the law to the director of the police force, Commissioner Douglas Rico, and to the General Commissioners Alfonso Lugo, Vladímir Flores and the General Commissioner Merci Bracho.
