Puerto Rico's bloodiest month ever recorded

January ended as the most violent month in Puerto Rico's history, with 109 reported homicides, including five domestic violence cases, as of press time.

That is 33 more violent deaths than in January 2010.

But despite mounting criticism, the island’s top cop defended his anti-crime plan while at the same time admitting that the police overreacted in the incidents involving a student protest at the Capitol.


One thing that José Figueroa Sancha condemned was the alleged use of excessive force against the University of Puerto Rico students protesting in front of the Capitol on Thursday. “I would have not used that force on a female student. That does not mean that it was not according to the parameters, but it is something that I would have not done,” he said. Video film of the melée shows a policeman groping the breast of one female demonstrator which prompted intense reactions from the student movement. The police chief ordered an investigation into the matter and expects a full report in the coming weeks.


Figueroa Sancha quashed rumors that he would be fired or is about to resign amid constant criticism for his force that is under constant criticism for its apparent inaction. He mounted a vigorous defense of his crime-fighting initiatives and blamed the rise of deadly incidents on the degeneration of the social fabric on the island. “There has been a shift in the type of homicides we are experiencing. Crime rates, among what we call "organized crime," are down significantly this year. In fact, they has been down for the past two years. The problem is that we are now watching the rise of social crime,” Figueroa Sancha said.

The police superintendent stated that 49 of the 109 reported homicide cases, or 42 percent, are related to the social environment of the island. He cited as an example the high number of domestic violence deaths registered, six this month, and the case of the Florida man who burned to death six of his family members, as examples of the type of crime. “These types of crimes are hard to prevent because of their nature. It’s hard to stop a person from killing his or her partner. It’s also hard to stop a man who burns his family. These are new crimes,” Figueroa Sancha said.

For comparison, in 2010, 16 women died as a result of domestic violence, that’s 1.4 per month. If the current trend continues, more than 50 women will perish at the hands of their spouses.

Figueroa Sancha continued defending his plan to curb crime. “We can’t look at one aspect, such as the homicides, to measure if a plan is working or not. We have to look at the entire spectrum and when we do this, we see an across-the-board-reduction in crimes,” he said. Data provided by the police department for 2010 supports that reality for the island.

Out of the seven major crime categories, four showed a reduction last year in comparison to 2009. Aggravated assault was down 21 percent, rape cases reported a 33 percent decrease, burglary was down 12 percent, and robberies showed a 2 percent reduction. Three categories that increased during 2010 were armed robbery, up 10 percent, homicides, up 8 percent, and car theft, up 1 percent.

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