Responses to Information Requests

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada

1. Overview

In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the Advocacy Director at Fundación Multitudes, an organization [in Chile] which promotes civil society engagement in decision-making (Fundación Multitudes n.d.), stated that Chilean citizens can seek protection directly from the following institutions: the Carabineros (the police), the Office of the Prosecutor General [1] and the criminal courts or Courts of Appeal (Fundación Multitudes 2023-04-25).

1.1 Courts

The Florida International University's Center for the Administration of Justice (CAJ), whose researchers specialize in fields such as criminal justice, policing and public policy (CAJ n.d.a), indicates that Chile's judicial branch "is empowered to hear civil and criminal trials, to adjudicate them, and carry out the judicial decision" (CAJ n.d.b). According to sources, the highest judicial authority is the Supreme Court (CAJ n.d.b; Endress Gómez 2019-02), which is made up of 21 judges appointed by the President with Senate approval (Endress Gómez 2019-02). Sergio Endress Gómez, a lawyer and law school professor at the Universidad de Chile, states in an article published in GlobaLex [2] that below the Supreme Court are the 17 Courts of Appeal, followed by the courts of first instance (also called "lower level" courts), which deal variously with civil and criminal matters as well as family and labour law (Endress Gómez 2019-02). The CAJ indicates that there are "more than" 350 judges specializing in "various areas of law, such as juvenile, labor, criminal, and civil law" and serving in "Courts of Constitutional Rights [or the Constitutional Court], which are charged with protecting the fundamental rights of victims and defendants, and in Oral Criminal Trial Courts [Tribunales de Juicio Oral en lo Penal], which determine the guilt or innocence of defendants" (n.d.b).

The website of the Office of the Prosecutor General states that in oral criminal court, three judges preside over trial proceedings and issue a judgment on the guilt or innocence of the defendant (Chile n.d.a). The same source indicates that, once the investigation is complete, these judges will oversee the oral trial, hearing and assessing the grounds presented and addressing any issues that arise during the process (Chile n.d.a). The source adds that the judges reach their verdict based solely on the evidence provided during the public oral proceedings (Chile n.d.a).

Other parties involved in the criminal court process, according to Endress Gómez, include the Office of the Public Defender (Defensoría Penal Pública), which provides legal defence services to individuals who cannot hire a private lawyer, and the Due Process Judge (Juez de Garantía), who ensures "due process" and rights protection for all individuals involved, including defendants, victims and witnesses (2019-02).

1.2 Office of the Prosecutor General

According to sources, the Office of the Prosecutor General is an [translation] "autonomous" agency that investigates and prosecutes crimes (Endress Gómez 2019-02; Chile n.d.b; CAJ n.d.b). Sources indicate that the organization is headed by the Prosecutor General (Fiscal Nacional) [also translated as Attorney General or National Prosecutor] (Endress Gómez 2019-02; Chile n.d.b; CAJ n.d.b) and has regional and local prosecution offices as well the national office (Chile n.d.b). According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, its attorneys oversee police activities and criminal investigations; they are also responsible for protecting victims and witnesses [of crimes] (Chile n.d.b).

1.3 Law Enforcement

INTERPOL states that there are two "main" national law enforcement agencies in Chile, the Chilean Investigations Police (Policía de Investigaciones de Chile, PDI) and the Carabineros (n.d.). According to the same source, the PDI, which belongs to the Ministry of Interior, has 12,600 officers and is "Chile's operational and intelligence police unit in charge of serious crime investigation" (INTERPOL n.d.). The US Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) similarly states in its country security report on Chile that the PDI is a "plain-clothed investigative police agency" that "deals primarily with criminal investigations" (US 2022-10-11). The same source indicates that the Carabineros are a "uniformed national police force" responsible for preventing crime, maintaining order, and controlling traffic (US 2022-10-11).

2. Legislation on State Protection

The Political Constitution of the Republic of Chile (Constitución Política de la República de Chile, 1980) provides the following:

Article 19

The Constitution assures to all persons:

…

3. Equal protection of the law in the exercise of their rights.

All persons have the right to a juridical defense in the form that the law specifies and no authority or individual can impede, restrict or disturb [perturbar] the due intervention of an attorney, if it is required. Concerning the members of the Armed Forces and [the forces] of Public Order and Security, this right will be governed, concerning administrative and disciplinary [matters], by the pertinent norms of their respective statutes.

The law shall provide [arbitrar] the means to grant juridical counsel [asesoria] and defense to those who cannot secure them on their own. The law shall specify the cases and shall establish the form in which natural persons [who are] victims of crimes may be provided with gratuitous [sic] juridical counsel and defense, to the effect of exercising the criminal [penal] action recognized by this Constitution and the laws.

Any person accused of a crime has the irrenounceable right to be assisted by a suitable defending attorney [defensor] by the State if one cannot be appointed in the modality [oportunidad] established by the law.

No one can be judged by special commissions, but only by the tribunal that the law specifies, and which has been established previously by it prior to the perpetration of the act.

Any sentence of an organ which exercises jurisdiction must be based on previous legally held proceedings. It will correspond to the legislator to always establish the guarantees for an efficient [racional] and just procedure and investigation.

The law cannot presume, of right, penal responsibility.

No crime will be punished with a penalty other than that specified by a law promulgated prior to its perpetration, except where a new law favors the affected [person].

No law can establish penalties unless the conduct that [the law] penalizes is expressly described in it.

…

7. The right to personal freedom and to individual security.

Consequently,

1. Every person has the right to reside and remain in any place in the Republic, move from one [place] to another, and enter and leave its territory, on condition that the norms established in the law are respected and always save prejudice to third parties;
2. No one may be deprived of his personal freedom nor may it be restricted except for the cases and in the form determined by the Constitution and the laws;
3. No one may be arrested or detained except by order of a public functionary, expressly empowered [facultar] by the law and after such an order has been served [intimar] in the legal form. However, an individual caught in flagrant crime can be detained, with the sole object of bringing [him] to the disposition of the competent judge within the following twenty-four hours.
   If the authority orders the arrest or detention of any person, it must, within the following forty-eight hours, so advise the competent judge, bringing to his disposition the affected [person]. The judge can, by [a] motivated resolution, increase the period to five days, and to ten days in the case that the facts investigated [are] qualified by the law as terrorist conduct;
4. No one may be arrested or detained, subjected to preventive arrest or imprisoned, except in his home or in public premises established to that effect.
   Those entrusted with the prisons may not receive in them anyone qualified as arrested or detained, or accused or imprisoned, without placing on record the corresponding order, issued by an authority with legal faculty, in a register which will be public.
   No solitary confinement [incomunicación] can prevent the functionary entrusted with the place of detention from visiting the arrested, detained, accused or imprisoned [person] who is in it. This functionary is obligated, provided that the arrested or detained [person] requests it, to transmit a copy of the order of detention to the competent judge, or to demand that such copy be given to him, or to give a certificate by himself that the individual is being detained, in the event this requirement should have been omitted at the time of the detention;
5. The freedom of the accused will proceed unless the detention or preventive imprisonment is considered by the judge as necessary for the investigation or for the security of the offended [person], or of society. The law will establish the requirements and modalities for obtaining it.
   The appeal of the resolution that is pronounced concerning the freedom of the accused for the crimes referred to in Article 9, will be taken cognizance of by the Superior Tribunal that corresponds, composed exclusively of titular members. The resolution which approves it or grants it will be required to be agreed upon unanimously. During the period of freedom, the accused will always remain subject to the measures of vigilance of the authority that the law contemplates;
6. In criminal causes, the suspect or accused cannot be obligated to testify under oath [concerning] his own acts; nor can his ascendants, descendants, spouse or other persons who, according to the cases and circumstances [that] the law specifies, be obligated to testify against him;
7. No penalty of confiscation of assets may be imposed, without prejudice to any seizure in the cases established in the laws; but such a penalty can proceed with respect to unlawful associations;
8. The loss of previsional [previsionales] rights cannot be applied as [a] penalty; and
9. Once definitive dismissal [sobreseimiento], or absolutory sentence has been declared, the [person] subjected to trial or sentenced in any instance by resolution which the Supreme Court declares unjustifiably erroneous or arbitrary, will have the right to be indemnified by the State for patrimonial and moral losses that have been suffered. The indemnification will be judicially determined in a brief, and summary proceeding and in which the evidence shall be conscientiously assessed;

…

Article 76

The faculty to take cognizance of civil and criminal causes, to resolve them [and] to have judgments executed, pertains exclusively to the tribunals, established by the law. Neither the President of the Republic nor the Congress can, in any case whatsoever, exercise judicial functions, take over [avocarse] pending cases, revise the grounds or contents of their decisions [resoluciones] or revive closed procedures.

After intervention is requested in legal form and for matters [negocios] of their competence, [the tribunals] cannot excuse themselves from exercising their authority, not even in the absence [falta] of a law to resolve the dispute or issue submitted to their decision.

To enforce execution of their decisions, and to carry out or have carried out the acts of instructions [sic] that the law determines, the ordinary and the special tribunals of justice comprising the Judicial Power can issue direct orders to the public force or exercise the means of action conducive to that [which] they dispose. The other tribunals will act in the form that the law determines.

The requested authority must fulfill the judicial mandate, without further proceedings, and cannot qualify [the] grounds or timeliness [oportunidad], or the justice or legality of the decision they are trying to execute.

…

Article 83

An autonomous organism, hierarchical, with the name of [the] Public Ministry, will direct in exclusive form the investigation of the acts constituting a crime, those that determine the punishable participation and those which establish [acreditar] the innocence of the accused and, when appropriate [en su caso], will execute the public penal action in the form specified by the law. In an equal manner, the adoption of measures to protect the victims and the witnesses, will correspond to it. In no case can it exercise jurisdictional functions.

The [person] offended by the crime and the other persons that the law determines can equally exercise the penal action.

The Public Ministry can issue [impartir] direct orders to the Forces of Order and Security during the investigation. However, the actions [actuaciones] that deprive the accused or third parties of the exercise of the rights that this Constitution assures, or that restrict or disturb [perturban] them, will require previous judicial approval. The required authority must comply unconditionally [más trámite] [to] said orders and cannot qualify [calif[i]car] their foundation, timeliness [oportunidad], justice or legality, except to require the exhibition of the previous judicial authorization, when appropriate.

The exercise of the public penal action, and the direction of the investigations of the acts which constitute [configuren] the crime, of those which determine the punishable participation and of those which establish the innocence of the accused in the causes that are of the cognizance of the military tribunals, as well as the adoption of measures to protect the victims and the witnesses of such acts will correspond, in conformity with the norms of the Code of Military Justice and the respective laws, to the organs and to the persons that said Code and said laws determine.

…

Article 101

…

The Forces of Order and Public Security are composed solely of the Carabineros and Investigaciones; they constitute the public force and [they] exist to give effectiveness to the law, [to] guarantee the public order and the public internal security, in the form that their respective organic laws determine. They are dependents [sic] of the Ministry responsible for Public Security.

…

(Chile 1980, brackets and italics in original, except for brackets to add sic and to correct the spelling of calificar)

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), "an overwhelming majority of Chileans" voted in 2020 to "establish a convention" of elected representatives tasked with creating a new constitution; a new draft was proposed in September 2021 and "rejected" by 62 percent of voters (2023-01-12). As of October 2022, the same source reports that negotiations were ongoing to "initiate a new constituent process" (HRW 2023-01-12).

Chile's Code of Criminal Procedure (Código Procesal Penal) provides the following regarding state protection for victims:

[translation]

Article 6.- Protection of the victim. The Office of the Prosecutor General shall be required to ensure protection of the victim of the offence at all stages in the criminal proceedings. For its part, the court shall guarantee, in accordance with the law, respect for the victim's rights during the proceedings.

During the proceedings, the prosecutor shall promote property settlements, precautionary measures or other mechanisms that facilitate reparations for the harm caused to the victim. This duty shall not entail the exercise of any civil actions that may apply to the victim.

The police and other auxiliary bodies shall likewise treat victims in accordance with their status as such, endeavouring to facilitate their participation in the proceedings in which they are to take part to the extent possible.

…

Paragraph 2 The Office of the Prosecutor General

Article 77.- Powers. Prosecutors shall exercise and support public criminal prosecution in the manner provided for by law. To this end, they shall carry out all proceedings that are conducive to the success of the investigation, and shall direct the actions of the police with strict adherence to the principle of objectivity enshrined in the Constitutional Organic Law of the Office of the Prosecutor General.

Article 78.- Information and protection of victims. Throughout the proceedings, it shall be the duty of prosecutors to take measures or to request them, where appropriate, to protect the victims of offences, to facilitate their involvement in the proceedings and to avoid or minimize any upset they may have to endure during the proceedings in which they are to take part.

Prosecutors shall be required to carry out, among others, the following activities on behalf of the victim:

1. Provide them with information about the course and outcome of the proceedings, their rights and the actions that must be taken in order to exercise those rights.
2. If applicable, order at their discretion or ask the court to order measures aimed at protecting victims and their families from probable harassment, threats or attacks.
3. Inform victims of their right to compensation and how to claim it, and refer the case, where appropriate, to the State body responsible for representing victims in the exercise of the respective civil actions.
4. Hear the victim before requesting or deciding to suspend the proceedings or to terminate them for any reason.

If the victim has appointed a lawyer, the Office of the Prosecutor General shall also be required to carry out the activities indicated in letters a) and d) above in their regard.

Article 78 bis.- Protection of the physical and psychological integrity of smuggled migrants and victims of human trafficking. The Office of the Prosecutor General shall take the necessary measures, or request them, where appropriate, to ensure protection of the victims of these offences during criminal proceedings, bearing in mind their special vulnerability.

In the case of minors under eighteen years of age, the public services in charge of the protection of children and adolescents shall facilitate their access to the specialized services they require, especially those aimed at their comprehensive recovery and family reintegration, if appropriate in accordance with the best interests of the minor.…

Paragraph 6. The victim

Article 108. Concept. For the purposes of this Code, the victim is considered to be the person offended by the unlawful act.

In the case of offences resulting in the death of the offended party and in cases in which the latter is unable to exercise the rights granted to him/her in this Code, the following shall be considered victims:

1. the spouse or common-law partner and children;
2. ascendants;
3. cohabitants;
4. siblings; and
5. the adoptee or adoptive parent.

For the purposes of their involvement in the proceedings, the preceding list constitutes an order of priority, such that the involvement of one or more persons falling under one category excludes those falling under the subsequent categories.

Article 109.- Rights of victims. Victims may take part in the criminal proceedings in accordance with the provisions of this Code, and shall have, among others, the following rights:

1. To request protection measures against probable harassment, threats or attacks against them or their families;
2. To file a complaint;
3. To take action against the accused with a view to pursuing civil liabilities arising from the punishable act;
4. To be heard, where they so request, by the public prosecutor before the latter requests or decides to suspend the proceedings or to terminate them early;
5. To be heard, where they so request, by the court before it rules on temporary or final dismissal of the case or before any other decision terminating the case, and
6. To challenge the temporary or final dismissal or acquittal even if they did not take part in the proceedings.

… (Chile 2000)

Law 19,640 Establishing the Constitutional Organic Law of the Office of the Prosecutor General (Ley 19640 Establece la Ley Organica Constitucional del Ministerio Público) also provides the following regarding the Prosecutor General and the Office of the Prosecutor General:

[translation]

Article 13.- The Prosecutor General is the highest official at the Office of the Prosecutor General and is responsible for its functioning.

They shall exercise their powers personally or through the different bodies of the institution, in accordance with this law.

The National Prosecutor's Office shall have its headquarters in the city of Santiago. (Chile 1999)

3. State Protection Authorities
3.1 Protection Available Directly from the Office of the Prosecutor General

The information in this section was taken from the website of the Office of the Prosecutor General:

The Office of the Prosecutor General is responsible for taking the [translation] "relevant" measures to protect victims and their families from "threats, harassment or attacks" in relation to their "participation in the criminal [justice] process." The Office can act autonomously, such as by strengthening security at the victim's residence or by providing alternate accommodations. If the protection measure involves limitations placed on the accused, for example to prevent the accused from approaching the victim or their family, the Office must petition a due process judge for authorization (Chile n.d.c).

The Office of the Prosecutor General is also responsible for protecting witnesses and their families from [translation] "threats, harassment or attacks" in relation to their participation in the criminal justice process. The Office must therefore adopt such protection measures as do not restrict the rights of the accused. A prosecutor might, for example, take steps to prevent the "visual identification" of the individual "in certain investigative proceedings." They can also ask a due process judge to order a protection measure, even if it restricts the defendant's rights, such as preventing the accused from approaching the individual or their family (Chile n.d.d).

According to the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Carabineros and the PDI are [translation] "auxiliary or partner" organizations to the Office of the Prosecutor General in criminal investigation and proceedings "when ordered to do so, under the direction and responsibility of the Office of the Prosecutor General" (Chile n.d.a).

There are Regional Victim and Witness Support Units (Unidades Regionales de Atención a las Víctimas y Testigos, URAVIT) which are staffed by psychologists, social workers, and lawyers who provide guidance, protection and support to [translation] "victims and witnesses of crime." The units' key responsibilities are as follows:

1. to assess the risks faced by each victim or witness as a result of "the crime or their participation in the criminal [justice] process," and
2. to implement the protection measures necessary to keep the individual safe and "facilitate their participation in the process" (Chile n.d.d).

There are URAVIT units operating out of [translation] "each" regional prosecutor's office (Chile n.d.e).

3.2 Protection Available Directly from a Criminal Court

The information in this section was taken from the website of the Office of the Prosecutor General:

The role of a due process judge is to ensure that the rights of participants in the criminal justice process are respected, including those of victims, defendants, and witnesses. Responsibilities include the following:

• Grant advance authorization for actions that infringe upon constitutionally guaranteed rights, when requested to do so by the Office of the Prosecutor General.
• Conduct the judicial hearings during the investigative process and resolve issues that arise in the course of the hearings.
• Rule on release or pre-trial detention for defendants that appear before the judge.
• Conduct preparatory hearings for Oral Trials.
• Pronounce sentences in summary procedures, when applicable.
• Hear and rule on certain [translation] "less grave felonies" and on criminal misdemeanors in accordance with the new Code of Criminal Procedure, in "simplified" or "small claims" proceedings.
• Oversee the enforcement of criminal sentences and security measures ordered by the judge in question (Chile n.d.a).

3.3 Proposal to Create an Office of the Ombudsperson for Victims of Crime

Sources report that a bill to create a National Service for Access to Justice (Servicio Nacional de Acceso a la Justicia) and an Office of the Ombudsman for Victims of Crime (Defensoría de Víctimas de Delitos) was put forward in January 2021 (Ortega Azócar 2022, 82; Chile 2021-01-03) by way of Presidential Message No. 496-368 (Ortega Azócar 2022, 82). El Líbero, a news source based in Santiago (El Líbero n.d.), cites the [former] President of Chile Sebastián Piñera as having stated in 2021 that [translation] "'no ombudsman exists to protect victims of crime'" the way that the Office of the Public Defender supports defendants [see section 1.1 of this Response] (2020-01-03). The same source reports that, according to the President, the government has [translation] "'[o]ften received criticism'" for treating "'criminals better than victims'" (El Líbero 2020-01-03). According to Chile's Ministry of Justice and Human Rights (Ministerio de Justicia y Derechos Humanos), the bill also aims to fulfill the constitutional mandate established by article 19(3) that stipulates that the government shall provide [translation] "free legal counsel and defence" with the goal of supporting people who have been victims of crimes (Chile 2021-01, 3). According to a 2022 undergraduate thesis on victim protection in Chile's criminal justice system by Felipe Andrés Ortega Azócar, a law student at the University of Chile, the Chilean criminal justice system lacks [translation] "clarity" and "adequate regulation" regarding actions available to victims within the justice system (Ortega Azócar 2022, 105). According to the website of Chile's House of Representatives (Cámara de Diputadas y Diputados), the bill remained on its first reading in the House as of 3 April 2023 (Chile [2023-04-03]).

According to FactChecking.cl, a non-profit initiative to fact-check public discourse run by the Communications Faculty of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (Factchecking.cl n.d.), a proposal was submitted in January 2022 to include the ombudsman as part of the victims' rights enshrined in the new constitution, but this was ultimately voted down ([2022]). Bío Bío Chile, a news website run by the Chilean radio station Bío Bío Comunicaciones (Bío Bío Comunicaciones n.d.), reports that in October 2022 members of the House of Representatives asked President Gabriel Boric to include the Office of the Ombudsman for Victims of Crime as part of the 2023 budget bill (2022-10-03). Further information on whether this addition was made to the budget could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3.4 Government Programs for Victim Assistance

According to the Ministry for Justice and Human Rights, the Support Program for Victims (Programa de Apoyo a Víctimas), an initiative of the Undersecretariat for Crime Prevention, provides [translation] "free and timely" support to victims of violent crime (Chile n.d.f). The program employs a team of psychologists, lawyers, and social workers, and can be accessed by calling a 24-hour hotline or by visiting one of 42 Support Centres for Victims of Crime (Centro de Apoyo a Víctimas de Delito) or 8 service locations located [translation] "all over the country" (Chile n.d.f). A report on the program by David Jara, a researcher at the Justice and Society Think Tank (Centro de Estudios Justicia y Sociedad) of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, citing the program's statistical yearbook, states that in 2021 the program provided care to approximately 46,000 individuals, or 81 percent of the target population (Jara [2022], 2). Of 44 participants surveyed by the Justice and Society Think Tank in May and June 2021, of which 28 were based in the Santiago Metropolitan Region, 62 percent received legal assistance or representation from a lawyer through the program (Jara [2022]).

According to the website of the Legal Assistance Corporation (Corporación de Asistencia Judicial, CAJ) for the Metropolitan Region [Santiago], the CAJ is a public service whose mission is to [translation] "[p]rovide legal guidance and support to everyone who requires it" and to give law graduates a chance to gain experience (Chile n.d.g). The same source notes that the CAJ has a [translation] "presence" in the Santiago Metropolitan Region as well as the Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins, Maule, Magallanes and Antártica Chilena regions (Chile n.d.g). The Ministry for Justice and Human Rights indicates that the CAJ runs Holistic Victim Care Centres (Centros de Atención Integral a Víctimas), where victims of violent crime and those close to them can access legal guidance and representation in court, assistance from social workers in accessing public and private services and [translation] "therapeutic support" from psychologists (Chile n.d.f). Information on the effectiveness of the Holistic Victim Care Centres could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

4. Effectiveness of State Protection Authorities

Information on the effectiveness of state protection authorities was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

The Advocacy Director of Fundación Multitudes also stated that the Chilean police and judiciary systems are [translation] "very effective" in investigating crime, laying charges, obtaining convictions, and protecting citizens (Fundación Multitudes 2023-04-25). According to the US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2022,

[t]he constitution provides for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial independence and impartiality. … The constitution and law provide for the right to a fair and public trial, and the judiciary generally enforced that right. (US 2023-04-12, 5)

Bertelsmann Stiftung's Transformation Index (BTI) 2022, which "assesses the transformation toward democracy and a market economy as well as the quality of governance in 137 countries," indicates that the Chilean judiciary is "independent and performs its oversight functions appropriately," and "free from unconstitutional intervention by other institutions and mostly free from corruption" (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2022, 2, 12).

OSAC notes that the Carabineros "are one of the most professional and well-trained, and least corrupt police forces in the region" (US 2022-10-11). However, sources report cases of "excessive" force used by police against protesters (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2022, 10; Amnesty International 2023-03-27, 120; HRW 2023-01-12). BTI 2022 indicates that an embezzlement "scheme" was discovered within the Carabineros in 2016, with an estimated $40 million in police funding having been "divert[ed]" to "largely high-ranking officials"; 126 officers were charged, 95 have been sentenced and the trial for the remaining 31 individuals was ongoing as of 31 January 2021 (Bertelsmann Stiftung 2022, 12). Freedom House notes that "[w]hile the government has developed mechanisms to investigate and punish police abuses, excessive force and human rights abuses committed by the [Carabineros] still occur" (2023-02-24, Sec. F3).

4.1 Effectiveness in Investigating Crimes

The information in the following paragraph was taken from a report on homicide and impunity in Chile published in December 2022 as part of series by the Centre for Journalistic Projects and Research (Centro de Investigación y Proyectos Periodísticos, CIP) in partnership with the Centre for Investigative Journalism (Centro de Investigación Periodística, CIPER) and Vergara 240 [3]:

According to CIP figures, 25 percent of homicide cases in 2021 were closed without a suspect being found, up from 9.7 percent in 2010. [translation] "Judges, experts and former police officers" attribute this increase to "investigative failures" by the police and prosecution, as well as to "a lack of training in criminology and excess workload among prosecutors." An oral criminal court judge from Santiago is quoted as describing Chilean police investigations as "'bad'" and "'late'," with incident sites being "'improperly managed'" and witnesses not properly identified. A retired PDI official similarly stated that the preservation of crime scenes is a "serious proble[m]," because "'often'" Carabineros will disturb the site while investigating (CIP, et al. 2022-12-19). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

4.2 Effectiveness in Obtaining Convictions

The Office of the Prosecutor General provides the following statistics for how homicide and sexual crime trials concluded for the period between 1 January and 31 December 2022:

(Chile 2023-01, 26, 28)

4.3 Effectiveness in Protecting Citizens

The information in the following paragraph was taken from a survey conducted between 5 September and 3 October 2022 of 1,831 people [4] by the Citizen Peace Foundation (Fundación Paz Ciudadana), an NGO based in Chile that helps design, implement and assess public policy regarding security and justice and raises awareness among citizens (Fundación Paz Ciudadana n.d.):

Respondents' assessment of police performance on public safety increased for both the Carabineros and the PDI compared to the same survey in 2021, as did confidence in police. When asked to assess public agencies and institutions on public safety on a scale of 1 to 7, the average grade assigned by respondents was as follows:

Victim satisfaction with the performance of the Carabineros after reporting a crime has increased [translation] "significantly" [compared to 2021] (Fundación Paz Ciudadana [2023], 2, 34, 38, 43).

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 for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Notes

[1] The website of the Office of the Prosecutor General explains that the terms Fiscalía de Chile and Ministerio Público both refer to the same institution [translated in this Response as Office of the Prosecutor General] (Chile n.d.b).

[2] GlobaLex is a "legal publication dedicated to international and foreign law research" and published by the Hauser Global Law School Program of the New York University School of Law (GlobaLex n.d.).

[3] The Centre for Journalistic Projects and Research (Centro de Investigación y Proyectos Periodísticos, CIP) is an institute of the Universidad Diego Portales (UDP) that studies political, economic, social, and cultural phenomena (CIP n.d.). The Centre for Investigative Journalism (Centro de Investigación Periodística, CIPER) is a Chile-based non-profit foundation and committed to investigative journalism and transparency (GIJN n.d.). Vergara 240 is a multiplatform media outlet managed by the School of Journalism (Escuela de Periodismo) at UDP in Chile (Vergara 240 2023-01-24).

[4] Survey respondents were men and women over 18 years of age and residing in the main urban districts of Chile, of whom 942 were contacted by telephone and 889 were surveyed in person (Fundación Paz Ciudadana [2023], 2).

References

Amnesty International. 2023-03-27. "Chile." Amnesty International Report 2022/2023: The State of the World's Human Rights. (POL 10/5670/2023) [Accessed 2023-04-18]

Bertelsmann Stiftung. 2022. "Chile Country Report." Bertelsmann Stiftung's Transformation Index (BTI) 2022. [Accessed 2023-04-14]

Bío Bío Chile. 2022-10-03. Jean Valencia. "Diputados UDI solicitan al Gobierno incluir 'Defensoría a las Víctimas' en Ley de Presupuestos 2023." [Accessed 2023-05-05]

Bío Bío Comunicaciones. N.d. "Bío Bío Comunicaciones." [Accessed 2023-05-05]

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Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Agrupación Lésbica Rompiendo el Silencio; Asociación Chilena de Protección de la Familia; Asociación de Abogadas Feministas; Centro de Educación y Promoción de Acción Solidaria; Centro de Estudios de la Realidad Social; Comisión Ética Contra la Tortura; Comunidad y Justicia; Cooperativa Apacheta – Derechos Humanos y Pueblos Originarios; Corporación Comunidad Vínculos; Corporación de Oportunidad y Acción Solidaria – Opción; Corporación de Promoción y Defensa de los Derechos del Pueblo; Corporación Humanas; Corporación La Matriz; Corporación La Morada; Corporación Latinoamericana SUR; Corporación Pilmaiquén; Derechos Digitales; Fiscalía del Medio Ambiente; Fundación Casa de la Paz; Fundación de Ayuda Social de las Iglesias Cristianas; Fundación de Protección a la Infancia Dañada por los Estados de Emergencia; Fundación Iguales; Fundación Infancia; Fundación Instituto de la Mujer; Fundación para el Desarrollo y el Progreso; Fundación Red Inmigrante; Fundación Superación de la Pobreza; Good Neighbors Chile; Litigación Estructural para América del Sur; Movimiento de Integración y Liberación Homosexual; Movimiento por la Diversidad Sexual; Nos Buscamos; Observatorio contra el Acoso Callejero; ONG Paicabí; Organizando Trans Diversidades; Servicio Jesuita a Migrantes; Servicio Paz y Justicia.

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