The Government, Decentralization and Regionalization Commission began analyzing the bill, in its second phase, which modifies Law 18,695, the constitutional organic law for municipalities, and other legal bodies, with the aim of strengthening municipal institutions in matters of public safety and crime prevention.
The meeting, chaired by Senator Manuel José Ossandón, heard from the Minister of the Interior and Public Security, Carolina Tohá, who stressed that the main purpose of the legal text is to “strengthen the preventive role of municipalities in matters of security” and recalled that the legislative process has been led by the Undersecretariat for Crime Prevention.
The Secretary of State indicated that the aim is to resolve the lack of “a governing body in the Executive that organizes all the tasks of developing municipal security.” With this, she added, “the confusion or lack of clarity regarding the scope of the functions of security personnel” is corrected.
He also stressed that the competitive nature of municipal funds for security is being eliminated. “Today they are based on socio-criminal vulnerability, that is, on needs, but this also puts strain on capacities,” said Tohá.
To add insult to injury, he said that the number of municipalities receiving funds went from 59 to 233.
Senators expressed some doubts regarding the legal proposal, including some of the project’s funding sources, which include – among others – royalty resources, but questioned whether it might undermine municipal autonomy (for spending remittances).
In addition, special attention was called to the possibility of “arming municipal officials” in order to “ensure the safety of the officials themselves.”
The Government Commission agreed to carry out pre-legislative work to move forward more expeditiously with the process.
What are the objectives of the project?
Strengthen the municipality’s role in security and crime prevention, improving municipal institutions and incorporating new powers.
Reduce the disparity that currently exists between the resources and tools that municipalities have to prevent crime.
Moving towards situational prevention approaches in urban design to combat crime hotspots.
Address citizen participation in security matters through neighborhood and rural security committees.
Protect municipal officials dedicated to security issues from the risks and threats they are experiencing during operations.
To this end, the initiative creates a new communal institution for prevention and security that establishes powers for mixed patrols with OS-14 and control of VIF precautionary measures as auxiliary tasks for the police.
Security inspectors are allowed to carry defensive and protective elements
An aggravating criminal circumstance is contemplated in the case of aggression in the exercise of functions.
Creates an Executive Coordination Committee for Security (made up of the Director of Security, representatives of Carabineros and PDI and the Public Ministry), which will be led by the Mayor and strengthens the Security Directorate, among other actions.
There are also changes in the regulation of municipal security, with Municipal Security inspectors who can be hired under the Labor Code and the supporting functions will be governed by a regulation of the Ministry in charge of Public Security and will require agreements between municipalities and Carabineros.
It allows the hiring of security personnel by municipal security associations to perform preventive functions (without Carabineros) and, with prior authorization from Carabineros and training, to perform auxiliary tasks (with Carabineros).
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