The meeting was convened urgently after the impact caused among the population by the death of Rita Olivares, Carabineros sergeant, who, along with a task force, responded to a report of a robbery in progress and on arrival were received with gunfire.

Another member of the Carabineros recently died after being run over by an individual who was participating in a street fight and attempted to escape so as to avoid arrest.

The anxiety in Chilean society caused by an increase in criminal acts led the National Congress to modify its agenda for this week and focus exclusively on dealing with the issue of security, described as the main concern of the people.

Three initiatives will be discussed this Tuesday with an aim to make modifications to the current Penal Code. The first of these consists of increasing prison sentences for the crime of kidnapping, the second refers to more harsh punishment for the improper carrying of firearms in places with a large influx of public, and the third consists of penalizing conspiracy to commit homicide.

In addition to those mentioned, there are other initiatives, such as tackling hired killings as a phenomenon, the reform of the police corps, immigration control, and the so-called Naín and Retamal laws, regarding the powers and protection of the police.

According to the president of the Lower House, Vlado Mirosevic, there is a commitment from the parties with legislative representation to discuss and vote throughout this week, on a total of seven projects related to the fight against crime

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