The Minister of the Interior, Luis Alberto Heber, sees some green shoots in his security strategy, and affirms that there was a drop in homicides: At the same time that he is willing to participate in the questioning called by the Broad Front to address the issue of homicides in Uruguay.
Homicide rates in Uruguay have been a cause for concern for society and the authorities. With the increase in crime, the broad front called an interpellation in Parliament, which Heber has agreed to attend “with pleasure”. In this sense, the minister points out that it is important to analyze homicides in a broader period than just a weekend, a week or a month.
Heber emphasizes that it is necessary to evaluate the homicides in a longer period to determine if it is a wave or a sustained growth. So far, the available data does not indicate a constant increase, but rather a downward trend.
However, the minister points out that there are still “a few months” to say with certainty if this decrease “is a sustained trend” or simply a temporary situation from one month to the next.
During a press conference, Minister Heber presented encouraging figures to support his position. Comparing the current month with May 2022, a significant decrease in homicides is observed. While in May 2022 there were 43 crimes, only 23 were registered this month. This represents almost 50% fewer homicides in the aforementioned period. The minister stresses that it cannot be said that homicides are increasing when the data clearly shows the opposite.
Heber wants to do a broader analysis
The Minister of the Interior raises the question as to whether this decrease is a temporary situation or if a downward trend is really being observed. In response to this question, Heber states that it is still premature to make strong statements. It cannot be guaranteed that there is an upward trend, but neither can it be said with certainty that there is a downward trend.
In order to have a more complete and precise vision of the evolution of homicides in Uruguay, Minister Heber underlines the importance of analyzing the data from January to July. This longer period will allow obtaining a more solid and reliable pattern on the trend of homicides in the country.
