The Federal Park of the city of Santa Fe was this Sunday the scene of the ceremony for the 161st anniversary of the provincial police, led by the governor Maximiliano Pullaro, accompanied by the vice-governor Gisela Scaglia, the minister of Justice and Security Pablo Cococcioni and the chief of the force, Luis Maldonado.
In front of officers, authorities and family members, Pullaro highlighted the transformation that the institution is undergoing. "When we took office, the police force was battered and without support. Today we can proudly say that we have managed to restore dignity and confidence. This force followed a working method that brought peace and security and is changing the history of the province," he said.
The governor linked the recovery of social trust to the implementation of a sustained plan. "In Rosario and Santa Fe, the neighbours once again recognise the uniform in the street. This is explained by a method: patrolling in quadrants, reinforcement in critical areas based on criminal analysis and permanent presence in the territory," he said. And he called on police chiefs to "maintain this approach" because, he said, "the method guarantees that crime rates will continue to fall".
Pullaro also highlighted the passing of the law that establishes jury trials in cases in which police officers are tried for their actions. "It will no longer be a judge from an office who determines what an officer should have done in seconds. It will be a people's court that will assess their conduct. This gives guarantees, but above all it gives support to those who act correctly and within the law," he emphasised.
Pullaro asked the force to maintain its commitment: "You have not only changed the history of the police, but you have also changed the history of the province of Santa Fe. Let's continue working with discipline, with the method that has proven to be effective and with the certainty that Santa Fe society supports you.”
Vice-governor Gisela Scaglia addressed a message of gratitude to the officers: "Thank you for taking care of us, for defending us and for putting on this uniform that today, for me, is that of the most prestigious police force in the country. Twenty months ago we made a commitment that security would be a priority. Today we see results, but there is still a long way to go. Let's move forward, working together and with the conviction that criminals should be where they belong: in jail".
Investment and key participation in the new Constitution
For his part, Minister Pablo Cococcioni reviewed the process of institutional transformation. He pointed out that by the middle of the current administration "2,500 patrol units will have been acquired; uniforms and weapons have been provided to police officers" and the "Luciano Law" was promoted, after Luciano Nocelli, the policeman who in November 2024 regained his freedom after the annulment of his sentence for the death of two motorbike thieves in a confrontation that took place in 2019 in the city of Rosario. "This initiative proposes mandatory training in police perspective and use of force for prosecutors and criminal judges".
The minister also stressed that homicides in the province "fell by 53.2% compared to the previous biennium", and said that progress is being made in the installation of police stations in Rosario and the provincial capital, along with the expansion of the critical communications system and 911 in much of the province. He also stressed that the new Constitution enshrines security as a non-delegable duty of the province, grants the Executive the design of criminal policy and recognises the police as an essential institution, "dignified and hierarchical" in the framework of the constitutional reform.
The Chief of Police, Luis Maldonado, highlighted the value of the method applied since the beginning of the administration. "Planning with criminal intelligence and data analysis made it possible to reduce violent crime and increase peace in the neighbourhoods. This method would not have been possible without the unprecedented increase in resources and the constant support of the political authorities," he said.
Present at the ceremony were the Mayor Pablo Poletti; the Minister of Economy, Pablo Olivares; the Secretary of Security, Omar Pereira; the Secretary of Institutional Management, Virginia Coudannes; the Secretary of Technical Coordination and Financial Administration, Georgina Orciani; the Secretary of Human Rights, Emilio Jatón; the Deputy Pablo Farías; and the President of the Municipal Council, Adriana Molinas, as well as the Deputy Chief of Police, Daniel Filchel, among other authorities.
