Fuerza del Pueblo questions the results of police reform under the current administration
The Citizen Security Secretariat of the People’s Force (FP) has raised its voice to point out what they consider a setback in national security goals. Josefina Reynoso, a representative of the organization, described the results of the police reform as a failure, arguing that there is an abysmal gap between government promises and the operational reality of the institution.
According to the political leader, the Government committed five years ago to incorporating 20,000 new officers into the police ranks. However, official figures reveal a different picture: the net growth of the institution barely reaches 2,509 members in that period, a figure that, in the opinion of the FP, evidences poor resource management and planning.
Breakdown of figures and institutional questioning
Reynoso based his complaint on data extracted from the National Police itself. While in 2020 the institution had 36,094 members, by the year 2026 the figure stood at 38,603. This increase, described as insufficient by the organization, calls into question the effectiveness of recruitment campaigns and, above all, the retention capacity of new personnel.
Graduating police officers is not the same as increasing institutional capacity. Training is not retaining, and announcing is not fulfilling. The country needs to know why, after five years, the Government remains so far from fulfilling a promise that was presented as the central pillar of citizen security.
Josefina Reynoso, Secretary of Citizen Security of the FP
The analysis presented by the Fuerza del Pueblo highlights key points that require immediate attention from the authorities:
- Low retention rate: A net retention of approximately 25.6% is estimated, which means that for every 100 graduated agents, only a fraction remains active in essential security duties.
- Lack of transparency: The organization demands clarity regarding how many agents leave the institution, how many have been dismissed, and what the actual destination of the investment made is.
- Personnel categories: It is questioned how much of the reported growth corresponds to career agents and how much to assimilated personnel, which alters the perception of operational capacity on the streets.
Accountability requirement
The People’s Force (Fuerza del Pueblo) has urged the Ministry of Interior and Police, as well as the Commissioner for Police Reform, to abandon the propaganda approach and present a detailed report. The demand focuses on knowing the actual level of compliance with the schedule, the use of public funds, and the concrete security indicators perceived by the citizenry.
For the opposition entity, citizen security cannot depend on triumphalist speeches. Reynoso concluded by calling for priority to be given to prevention, institutional response, and the real strengthening of police presence in neighborhoods and communities, elements that, in his view, are the only valid indicators to measure the success of any reform in the sector.
