President Sebastian Pinera announced this Wednesday the publication of the police modernization law, which contemplates changes in the Carabineros and the Investigative Police (PDI) institutions.
“This law strengthens civilian control of the police through the Ministry of the Interior,” the president said at a press point. President Piñera affirmed that the ministry “will have the responsibility of supervising and evaluating the management of police institutions and also the budgetary, financial and merit control, over the investments and expenses that the public security forces carry out.”
Likewise, he commented that the relationship with the Government will be through the Undersecretary of the Interior, and not through the service headquarters, as it was until now.
In terms of transparency, the head of state said that with the new law, the police will have to make public renditions of their management every year.
The law creates internal and external auditing bodies, an annual internal auditing plan, a civil servant probity statute, and the obligation to declare interests and assets for high-ranking Carabineros and PDI officers.
Likewise, the obligation to prepare a Strategic Police Development Plan is established, with a minimum projection of six years, which will define the guidelines for the distribution of the institution’s personnel and means, the guidelines for purchases and investments and the guidelines for its update, which will be evaluated by the respective Police High Command and the Undersecretary of the Interior.
Finally, in relation to the career and training, the regulations establish that to enter the institutions, secondary education will be required. Likewise, the Ministry of Education gives official recognition to the Police Training School and the Professional Training Center of the Chilean Investigative Police.
