Uruguay: Whether a person who suspects that the police are involved in corrupt activities may report them to a higher body (1999 to May 2001)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 29 May 2001 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | URY37188.E |
| Reference | 2 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Uruguay: Whether a person who suspects that the police are involved in corrupt activities may report them to a higher body (1999 to May 2001), 29 May 2001, URY37188.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4bebf20.html [accessed 3 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The Uruguayan government's Civic Information Service (Servicio de Información Ciudadana, SIC) reported in September 1999 that the Public Prosecutor's Office of Police (Fiscalía Letrada de Policía) was created by decree on 22 August 1997 [translation] "to prevent and stamp out irregular actions" by police. According to the Website of the Ministry of the Interior, the National Inspection of Police (Inspección Nacional de Policía) was established as a unit of the Ministry on 1 November 1992 (2001). The functions of the National Inspection of Police were expanded by decree on 22 August 1997 to improve its coordination work with the Fiscalía Letrada de Policía with regards to internal investigations of irregular or illicit actions by police (2001).
Additional information, including the effectiveness of the Fiscalía, could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. Attempts to obtain additional information from the Uruguyan human rights group, Servicio de Paz y Justicia (SERPAJ), were unsuccessful within the time constraints of this Response.
In an interview with Radio El Espectador on 5 April 1999, the Secretary General of the Latin American Association of Railroads (Asociación Latinoamericana de Ferrocarriles, ALAF) reported that the principal contributor to public insecurity in Uruguay was police corruption. He further stated that this corruption was present throughout the police apparatus, including in the higher echelons of the Ministry of the Interior, the various units of the Ministry and the Police Headquarters in Montevideo (ibid.). These statements could not be corroborated among the sources consulted.
Country Reports 2000 reports the following on reporting police corruption in Uruguay:
An internal police investigative unit receives complaints from any person concerning possible noncriminal police abuse of power, but it is understaffed and only can issue recommendations for disciplinary action. While the courts seldom convicted and punished law enforcement officials for such abuse in the past, such prosecutions were occurring more frequently. In the first 5 months of the year, the authorities prosecuted approximately 40 police officers for a variety of crimes, typically involving corruption, excessive use of force, or theft of suspects' property. They brought homicide charges against one officer, who shot and killed a neighbor who had a dispute with the officer's brother-in-law (2001).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2000. 2001. United States Department of State. Washington, DC.
Ministerio del Interior. 2001. "Inspección Nacional de Policía."
Radio El Espectador. 5 April 1999. "Víctor Vailliant: la principal causa de la falta de seguridad pública es la corrupción policial, que está enquistada en los propios cuadros jeráquicos de la institución."
Servicio de Información Ciudadana (SIC). September 1999. "Seguridad Ciudadana."
Additional Sources Consulted
IRB Databases
Latinamerica Press [Lima]. January 2000-May 2001
Latin American Regional Report: Southern Cone Report [London]. January 2000-May 2001
LEXIS/NEXIS
NACLA Report on the Americas [New York]. 2000-2001
World News Connection (WNC)
Internet sites including:
Amnesty International
Clarín [Buenos Aires]
Human Rights Watch
Jefectura de Policía de Montevideo
Ministerio del Interior
La Nación [Buenos Aires]
Servicio de Paz y Justicia (SERPAJ)
Transparency International
World Policy Institute
Search Engines:
Fast Search
