Chile: Congress approves ‘light trigger’ law to fight crime in the country

Chile’s congress this Wednesday approved the “Nain Retamal” law, also called the “light trigger”, which establishes “privileged legal protection” for the police amid rising crime in the country.

Murder last week of a sergeant Police Rita Olivareswho was riddled with bullets when getting out of a police car when entering the procedure, accelerated the development of this regulation, establishing that if the police or military personnel use their service weapons, it will be presumed that “they have been correctly used” when they act in self-defense .

By agreement between the government and the Senate, several of the most controversial points of this bill were removed, the discussion of which in Congress took place in an atmosphere of intense friction and the presence of victims of police repression and relatives of killed police officers. .

“We agreed to exclude some frankly aberrational ideas that we tried to include in this project (…) It is not true that the police are supported when they are given free rein (ndlr, complete free rein).” This was stated by the Minister in the Congress of the Interior Carolina Toha.

What does the bill say

The agreement with the government also eliminated the grounds for the use of weapons in the attack on a police officer by two or more unarmed persons, as well as the exemption from liability of police or military commanders for possible crimes committed by their subordinates.

“What this project does is that when a police officer uses a weapon for his own protection or a third party’s weapon because his life is in danger, it is assumed that the police officer should have acted in accordance with professional principles, but the investigation may prove otherwise,” he explained. Minister Toha after the approval of the law.

“The Carabinieri died to make this project known (…) protecting our police, giving it more powers, gives Chileans hope,” said opposition MP Andres Longton, the author of the initiative.

The original draft, which speakers and opponents during the process called “launch-friendly”, was criticized by crime experts and the United Nations.

“This is not in line with international human rights law,” criticized the head of the UN for human rights in South America, Jan Jarab.

According to polls, crime is the main problem of Chileans, and its increase is forcing the government and Congress to pass a number of laws against crime.

Considered one of the safe havens in Latin America, Chile has recently experienced a surge in crime.

In 2022, the number of homicides increased by 33.4% compared to the previous year, which is the second highest rate in Latin America after Ecuador, where they increased by more than 80%, according to the Deputy Minister for Crime Prevention.

(According to AFP).