He Ministry of Justice and Human Rights (Minjus) presented before the Congressional Constitution Commission a package of 14 legislative proposals aimed at strengthening citizen security. Among them stands out the creation of the National Superintendency of Internment and Resocialization (Sunir)which will replace INPE and to Pronacej as governing body of the penitentiary system.
During the extraordinary session, the minister Walter Martínez Laura He pointed out that the situation requires profound reforms to confront the advance of organized crime.
“The current situation forces us to act with determination and modernize our legal tools,” he stated.
Sunir would replace INPE and Pronacej
The head of the Minjus maintained that the INPE It maintains a structure that is out of date with the criminal dynamics of the country. For this reason, he announced the proposal to create the Suniran entity that will absorb the penitentiary and juvenile justice functions.
“Under said superintendency, a modern, specialized and efficient organizational structure will materialize, which will strengthen security and penitentiary treatment and reduce criminal recidivism,” Martínez said.
The approach includes modifying the Criminal Execution Code for:
- establish a extreme security stage in the Special Closed Regime, without progression for highly dangerous inmates;
- restrict prison benefits in crimes such as extortion and qualified homicide.
Measures against illegal telecommunications and extortion
Another of the proposed axes is to incorporate into Penal Code the aggravated crime of illegal supply of telecommunications servicesto sanction those who install or finance clandestine networks within prisons.
Additionally, we are looking for:
- regulate the criminal intelligence as a pre-procedural phase;
- include extortion in the cases that allow lift communications secrecy in 24 hours;
- authorize the immediate review of electronic equipment seized in cases of extortion, hitmen or kidnapping;
- reduce from three years to one the deadline for the destruction of seized weapons, under the supervision of the Public Ministry.
Creation of the specialized anti-extortion subsystem
The Minjus also proposes creating the Specialized Subsystem against Extortion and its Related Crimes (SEEDC)which will integrate prosecutors’ offices, courts and specialized police units to address this crime in an articulated manner.
Likewise, he states that the juvenile justice courts function on a one-person basis to reduce the procedural burden and expedite resolutions.
Martínez warned that the increase in extortion and hitmen requires guaranteeing police operations without interference. Therefore, he suggested incorporating the article 26-A in the Law 31061in order to avoid invasive acts during police interventions in states of emergency.
New superintendence for public defense
As part of institutional strengthening, the Executive proposes creating the Superintendency of Public Defense and Access to Justice (Sunadep)an autonomous entity aimed at improving the coverage and quality of free legal services.
The objective is to achieve a minimum of 14 defenders for every 10,000 people in povertyin order to guarantee more equitable access to the justice system.
