Gun Violence in Dominican Republic

Gun violence is a global human rights issue. In the U.S alone, over 30,000 people die
each year due to gun violence (Lee, 2012). In my home country of Dominican Republic, firearm
violence is just as big of a concern, as it’s one of the top ten causes of death in the country.
(CDC
Global Health - Dominican Republic

2019) In 2018, homicides in D.R dropped to 1,353
compared to 1,561 in 2017 and 1,616 in 2016. However, the murder rate is still 12.5 per 100,000
people, which puts the country among the most murderous 10 percent of countries in the world.
(Dominican Republic 2019 Crime & Safety Report

2019) Gun deaths are much more prevalent in
Dominican men, as around 1,000 men are killed from firearms each year, and around 100 women
each year are killed from gun violence in D.R. (Alpers, 2020)
Some risk factors for gun violence are the availability of weapons, history of violence,
involvement with drugs and alcohol, and poverty. These are all prevalent issues in the
Dominican Republic which lead to the high levels of gun violence in the country. In 2017, the
estimated total number of guns, both legal and illegal owned by citizens of D.R was 795,000.
However, in that same year, the number of registered guns was only 333,426. (Alpers, 2020)
This shows that there are an estimated 460,000 guns circulating the country that aren’t being
accounted for by the government. These guns can easily be bought through commercial gun
dealers who sell from their homes, online, or from someone they know who will just buy the gun
for them. This easy availability of guns has contributed to the increase of violence, as crime rates
Project, the police were ranked 9th, one of their reasons being their inability to punish the guilty.
Corruption is widespread within the National Police, as extortion is extremely common. In
places with high crime rates, community residents state that criminals pay fees to the police to
avoid arrest and continue committing crimes. A 2008 survey on youth and crime in Santo
Domingo confirmed that police and the National Drug Control Department tolerated or complied
in the setting up of drug sales. The youth reported that by paying a fee, they would not be
arrested or have their drugs taken. Oftentimes, police will also arrest young men at night in
connection with some investigation, and release them after they pay a bribe or relatives intervene
and pay for them. Police in D.R are paid extremely low salaries, as they only earn around 140
dollars per month on average. This contributes to police corruption because the police benefit
from crime occurring so they choose to allow it instead of fighting it. Government officials are
also fully aware of the corruption in the police force, as even the president referred many times
to the fact that members of the National Police and army are involved in drug trafficking and
other crimes. ("Shut up if you don't want to be killed!" Human Rights Violations by Polic
Dominican Republic

2011) Youth in Dominican Republic are growing up surrounded by child
abuse and poverty, and see that a life of crime is an easy way out. The fear of being arrested is
thrown out the window because they know that they can easily pay their way out of it, and it
highly contributes to the rise in gun violence in the Dominican Republic
Gun violence is a deeply rooted issue that isn’t caused by just one thing, but instead
caused by a wide variety of factors, and it requires a lot of work for it to be controlled in a
country. One basic recommendation to contain the problem would be background checks.
Dominican Republic is fairly restrictive when it comes to gun laws. Applicants must list a valid
reason for possessing a firearm, pass a background check along with a mental health evaluation,
is a real life example of the corruption that is rooted in the criminal justice system in Dominican
Republic. These two people are now roaming the country living their lives, knowing that they
took the life of an innocent person. I was angry about it for a while, but after learning more about
crime and why people commit them, I learned that crimes are often committed out of
desperation, and the situations people are born into and grow up in. Sadly, what happened to my
dad is not uncommon in the country, which is why I decided to go into public health because I
want to find a way to make some real change in Dominican Republic so more people don’t have
to lose fathers, brothers, cousins, and friends.