Crisis in the Dominican penal system: Public Defense warns about overcrowding and pretrial detention
The Director General of the National Public Defense Office, Rodolfo Valentín Santos, has raised an alarm regarding the unsustainability of the penal system in the Dominican Republic. The official pointed out that the excessive use of pretrial detention, added to critical overcrowding in prison facilities, is pushing the Dominican justice system toward a breaking point.
According to the figures presented by the Public Defense, pretrial detention has experienced an increase of 65.3%. This situation has led to extreme overpopulation, where some penitentiary centers report overcrowding levels ranging between 500% and 900%, a reality that deeply concerns sector authorities.
The challenge of the new Penal Code
The entry into force of the new Penal Code, which introduces more than 70 new criminal offenses, raises urgent questions about the State’s capacity to respond. Valentín Santos questioned the system’s logistics in the face of this new procedural burden: “Where are we going to put those people they are pursuing, who are going to be charged, prosecuted, imprisoned?”, the director expressed, highlighting the lack of physical space and resources.
Not everything should go to trial. It is necessary to strengthen the mechanisms for optimizing the criminal process to avoid the unnecessary judicialization of cases that could be resolved through other means.
Rodolfo Valentín Santos, Director of the Public DefenseProposals for process optimization
Given this scenario, the Public Defense advocates for the strengthening of the criminal process optimization project promoted by the Judiciary. According to official data, between 4,000 and 5,000 cases are recorded each year that culminate in dismissal orders or acquittals, which demonstrates that a significant number of cases reach trial without sufficient evidence to support a conviction.
- Institutional overload: Excessive judicialization saturates the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Judiciary, and the Public Defender’s Office.
- Judicial responsibility: Although prosecutors request the measures, the final responsibility lies with the judges, who must ensure a proportional use of pretrial detention.
- Continuity: A call is made to the next administration of the Supreme Court of Justice to maintain the focus on case clearance and the correct application of coercive measures.
Finally, Valentín Santos emphasized that the system requires urgent measures and a reorientation in criminal policy to avoid unmanageable saturation, thus guaranteeing a more efficient and fair exercise of the law in the country.
