Homicide rate falls 44% in Dominican Republic since 2022, but insecurity persists
Vice-President Raquel Peña chaired the weekly meeting of the Citizen Security Plan in Santo Domingo. The homicide rate fell 15.8% compared to 2025, although the perception of insecurity remains.
Dominican Republic adjusts security plan as homicides fall 44% since 2022
Vice-President Raquel Peña presided on Monday in Santo Domingo over the weekly meeting of the Task Force for the Citizen Security Plan, according to a report by infobae.com. The meeting, held in the Officers' Club Hall of the National Police Palace, served to evaluate the actions deployed during the previous week and establish the priorities of the institutions that make up the group.
Attending the session were the Minister of the Presidency, José Ignacio Paliza; the Minister of Interior and Police, Faride Raful; the Director-General of the National Police, Major-General Ernesto Rodríguez García, and the Commander-General of the Navy, Vice-Admiral Juan Bienvenido Crisóstomo Martínez. Also present were the Director-General of Migration, Vice-Admiral Luis Rafael Lee Ballester; the Executive Commissioner for Police Reform, Luis Ernesto García Hernández, and the Executive Director of the Commission for Police Educational Reform, Mu-Kien Sang Ben.
The table was completed by representatives from Digesett, Politur, the National System for Emergency Care and Security 911, the Directorate of Internal Affairs of the National Police, and senior prosecutors from various jurisdictions.
Homicide and robbery figures
The authorities presented data from the Citizen Security Plan during the meeting: the accumulated homicide rate stood at 7.36 per 100,000 inhabitants as of 25 September 2026, representing a decline of 15.8% compared to the same period in 2025. Compared to 2022, when the rate reached 13.20, the accumulated reduction amounts to 44.2%. Robberies also fell 40.5% in comparison with the same period of the previous year. Of the 35 territories analysed, 28—80%—maintain a homicide rate in single digits.
In the first 25 days of September, 99 homicides were recorded: 45 were classified as lawful action, 35 were linked to social conflicts, 11 were attributed to criminal acts, and eight remained under investigation.
Gap between statistics and perception
Minister Raful noted that the fall in homicidal violence and the sense of citizen insecurity are not contradictory phenomena. In statements gathered during The Weekly Agenda, she placed the accumulated rate at 7.41 per 100,000 inhabitants and compared it with the 21% recorded in 2011, the year when available records began in the country.
"There has been a reduction. But that does not necessarily mean that people should feel safer," Raful stated. The official clarified that 66% of intentional homicides originate in social conflicts between citizens, above those directly linked to organised crime.
Bill presented to Congress
In late September, the Government announced that it would present a bill on citizen coexistence to the National Congress, with the aim of reducing homicides and other crimes. The measure comes after acknowledging that the decline in official indicators does not eliminate the perception of insecurity in the streets. The Task Force meeting is held weekly with representatives from the country's security and justice areas.
Source: Google News DO — Crime