Panamanian security experts: Impunity has led to poor government security operations

The Panamanian government has been carrying out large-scale operations to combat crime in recent years, but Panamanian security experts recently said that although many criminals have been prosecuted, because the court has not sentenced them, these criminals are still wandering the streets.

Panama's "PanamaNiana America" reported on January 12 that the current Panamanian government has carried out a total of 7 large-scale operations to combat crime during its administration. However, the level of social security in Panama remains poor. According to the latest poll results previously released by Gallup, an internationally renowned polling company, 70% of Panamanian respondents believe that there has been an increase in illegal and criminal acts in the four months of 2021.

At the beginning of this year, the Panamanian government launched a crime campaign called "Génesis 2022", which will last until April. So far, the operation has successfully arrested more than 799 suspects.

But Isaac Brawerman, president of the Panamanian Gun Owners Association (APAP) and an expert on security, said that while the government's actions have yielded positive results, Panamanians do not feel safer. Although many of the offenders have been prosecuted, they are still wandering the streets because the courts have not sentenced them.

At the same time, Brauerman also said that the large-scale security operations launched by the Ministry of Public Security are mainly aimed at organized criminal activities, but for street criminals, such as thieves who steal mobile phones and wallets, the Ministry of Public Security has not carried out effective crackdowns, and the current law does not give strong penalties.

"The penalties for these street criminals are mostly fines, but if they don't pay the fines, the authorities won't pursue them," Browman noted. Then committing ten thefts of a lower amount is far more profitable than committing one of the higher amounts, because if a thief is caught for a large theft, he may face imprisonment, but if only a small theft is committed, the thief will only be punished with a fine. We must combat this kind of 'ordinary crime', which directly affects the lives of all Panamanians. ”

(Editor: Chen Yi)