The Impact of the Criminal Procedure Reform on Citizen Security

• Autor: Pásara, Luis
• Formato: artículo
• Fecha de Publicación: 2010
• Institución: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
• Repositorio: Revistas - Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
• Lenguaje: español
• OAI Identifier: oai:revistaspuc:article/3078
• Enlace del recurso: http://revistas.pucp.edu.pe/index.php/derechopucp/article/view/3078
• Nivel de acceso: acceso abierto
• Materia: Citizen Security; Criminal Procedure Reform; Latin America; Criminal Procedure; Public Ministry; Seguridad Ciudadana; Reforma procesal penal; Latinoamérica; Procesal Penal; Ministerio Público

This paper develops the impact of criminal procedure reform (RPP) on citizen security in Latin America. Specifically, it analyzes the cases of Chile, Costa Rica and Ecuador. The promoters of the criminal procedure reform affirmed that one of the consequences of this would be the more effective fight against crime. However, current statistics show that crime rates, in countries where the reform has already been applied, have not decreased. The criminal procedure reform proposes two fundamental changes: i) the passage from an inquisitive to an accusatory system and ii) the modification of the functions assigned to judges and prosecutors. Likewise, this reform allows the honesty of the system, in such a way that the latter admits that the majority of crimes committed and reported are not prosecuted. In fact, the statistics of the Chilean and Costa Rican cases indicate that most cases are resolved by the public ministries of those countries, where, normally, they prescribe and are filed. The criminal procedure reform evidences this, as prosecutors usually take the decision to file cases early. In contrast to the cases of Chile and Costa Rica, in Ecuador, most of the cases dismissed, normally, have no answer. On the other hand, it is worth asking what are the cases that are pursued and what are the criteria that determine this decision. According to the doctrine that supports the reform, those crimes that cause high social damage must be prosecuted. These crimes are established in accordance with the criminal prosecution policy of each Public Ministry. However, in the countries in which the reform has been implemented, there is no such policy and, consequently, the decision falls directly on the prosecutor or his immediate superiors. Another major problem that the reform has to overcome is that of habitual crime. The statistics in the cases of Chile and Costa Rica show that the reform, far from solving this problem, has caused this type of criminals to benefit.