Police Chief fires salvo at Justice Minister in weeks-long flap

Santo Domingo.- National police chief Manuel Castro on Thursday fired the latest salvo in a weeks-long flap with Justice minister Francisco Dominguez, who on Tuesday called police criminal investigations “a sham.”

But Castro fired back and accused heads of other government agencies of having a “mistaken perception” of Police work. "Traditionally and historically police work has been poorly valued and a mistaken perception of our agency has been created."

"This negative perception increases when authorized and qualified citizens emit destructive opinions, that disparage and tarnish the sacrifice made by most of our more than 33,000 men and women," said Castro prior to the graduation of 3,699 agents trained in modern investigation methods at Mirador Sur Park.

Despite admitting the police’s weaknesses, the official affirmed working tirelessly every day "to improve it."

Modern police?

On Tuesday Dominguez scoffed at the alleged modern methods used in criminal investigations and called for new methods by the police.

“It’s laughable to see an agent dab some little white powder in a crime scene and claim they have a print,” Dominguez said on Tuesday.