MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine: Multi-pronged anti-crime plan.

In the midst of a troubling crime wave, the Argentine government on Monday launched a broad security plan which includes pushing for judicial, legislative and police reform to combat insecurity and corruption.

The ambitious effort, which will be submitted to the public and to various non-governmental organizations for their reactions over the next 10 days, contains six areas of focus: justice, security, political reform, penal issues, citizen participation and technological cooperation within the armed forces.

Some of the measures announced on Monday will require the approval of Congress and others will be begun immediately by means of presidential decrees signed by Nestor Kirchner.

Among the bills that will be sent to Congress in the next month one stands out: the one proposing lowering to 14 years the age at which people can be held responsible for crimes, a proposal sure to be controversial throughout the country.

Justice Minister Gustavo Beliz announced the security plan at the government house in an event at which Kirchner gave a speech and the members of the entire Cabinet were present.

The plan includes the creation of a Fiduciary Security Fund of some $211 million, which would be controlled by Cabinet chief Alberto Fernandez. Also, $141 million will be allocated to build eight prisons - which would increase prison capacity by more than 50 percent - into which the plan ultimately envisions an investment of $352 million.

Beliz announced the creation of a Federal Investigation Agency, under which all the national and provincial security forces and entities would fall and which would be dedicated to combating the most serious crimes.

For that task, it is estimated that 6,000 agents will be required, 5,000 of which will be part of the security police and the rest part of the criminal investigations effort. The plan also includes a reform to the internal security law to permit provincial police to intervene in certain heretofore excluded criminal matters.

Regarding the crime-ridden capital itself, Beliz said that the plan envisions the strengthening of the city's police force by 1,500 officers over the next three years. The government will also send to Congress a proposal to modify the criminal association law, the witness protection program and other laws.

The plan also focuses on the social prevention of crime by readmitting some 50,000 youths to school to get them off the streets by means of an increase in student scholarships and the opening of educational centers on Saturdays.

The government also announced the extensive purchasing of equipment for the security forces over the next three months, including 212 new patrol cars for Buenos Aires, 25 police vans, 20,000 law enforcement uniforms, 3,500 pistols, as well as equipment for the scientific investigation of crime, among other things.

In addition, Beliz announced that the plan would have a "salary adjustment" for the Federal Police designed to create an "incentive" system for paying officers for producing results in the fight against crime.