Last Thursday, Federico González, Minister of the Interior, gave a press conference where he pointed out that 95% of kidnappings are solved in the country. This occurred after the promotion ceremony, delivery of the command baton and decorations to General Commissioners Directors and General Commissioners Inspectors of the National Police.
Juan Martens, criminologist, said that the minister shows with these statements his ignorance to be in charge of that State portfolio. He maintained that many people do not trust the police, which is why he does not report them. In Paraguay, only 3 out of every 10 crimes that occur are reported
“Instead of blaming the victims, they had to ask what they have to do to regain the trust of the institutions and the police. I’m not surprised by him because I don’t see him capable of being in charge of the Ministry of the Interior. It is a sign of his lack of preparation for this position, ”he said.
At another time, he questioned what statistics the Secretary of State has taken to point out that 95% of cases are resolved.
“How much is 100% to say that 95% has been resolved? It did not show any statistics. He said in a magical thought that there is no empirical causation, with that all he wants is to confuse or misinform. If we have three people kidnapped some more than five years ago, the three kidnappings in Amambay where the ransoms were paid without arresting the people, express kidnappings, I don’t know how effective you are talking about? For me it is really part of his scheme of misinformation and incapacity that has been seen with the increase in crimes against property. In the last few weeks we had complaints of police extortion and then they complain that people do not report crimes, people do not trust the police, ”he said.
When asked why citizens choose to pay ransoms rather than report kidnappings to the police, he replied that people view law enforcement officers as an obstacle, not a guarantor of their rights.
“People want to get their relatives back alive. Many times the police themselves keep the money. There has to be long-term work, plans, programs, working as something scientific, not testing. This is part of a problem that must be documented, ”she concluded.
