Felipe Muñoz Heredia said that given the situation it is imperative to go deeper into the issue of gun ownership. He also called for an increase in the number of police officers in the commune, which currently has 65 officers for a population of almost 80,000 inhabitants.

The mayor of the commune of Padre Hurtado, Felipe Muñoz Heredia, met with the Undersecretary of the Interior, Manuel Monsalve, where they discussed various security issues, focusing on weapons and police strength.

This was due to the mayor’s concern about the increase in homicides in the commune, reaching 300% in the last year. In view of this, he requested an improvement in the police’s capacity for action and, incidentally, an increase in the number of Carabineros, who number only 65 for a commune like Padre Hurtado with 76,219 inhabitants, which translates into one officer for every 2,382 people.

“We met with the Undersecretary of the Interior, Manuel Monsalve, to discuss two specific issues. One is social justice through what communes like Padre Hurtado need, which is an increase in the number of police officers in the community. We have 65 police officers for a population of almost 80,000 inhabitants,” said Mayor Felipe Muñoz Heredia.

“The second thing is the work on weapons. In our commune the homicide rate has increased by 300% and in this sense, and I think I speak for the majority of mayors in our country: disarm Chile”, added the mayor of Padre Hurtado.

In turn, Mayor Muñoz stressed that Undersecretary Monsalve promised to visit the territory and generate actions to disrupt organised crime and the possession of weapons. He also undertook to work in coordination with the local authorities to dismantle the gangs that commit crimes in the commune.

It should be noted that the request of Mayor Felipe Muñoz is in line with what was expressed in the Public Account of President Gabriel Boric, to prohibit the possession of weapons by civilians.