Dominican Republic submits presidential decree for the adoption of the International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes adapted to the national context

On October 16, 2024, the government of the Dominican Republic presented the decree establishing the International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes adapted to the Dominican Republic (ICCS-ARD). This classification contributes to the harmonization of crime statistics in the different stages of the criminal justice process. It also standardizes the information recorded within national institutions, as well as in the various territorial entities with different legal frameworks.

During this event, the general director of the National Statistics Office (ONE) Miosotis Rivas expressed: “Today we mark a new chapter in the history of our management in matters of security, justice, and statistics […] this regulation marks a decisive step towards the implementation of good practices in the statistical process, as it guarantees the quality of statistical production, through the standardization of information […. ] the ICCS-ARD provides us with a solid framework to collect data consistently and comparatively at any stage of the criminal justice, police investigation and prosecution process; but also positions us as a country committed to transparency and improvement of security and criminal justice policies.”

This decree is the culmination of two years of technical assistance provided by the UNODC-INEGI Center of Excellence (CoE) to the Dominican Republic. During these years, the best practices of the ONE, the National School of Statistics (ENE), the process of adapting the international classification to the national context and the public consultation of the classification project stood out.

On the other hand, Adriana Oropeza, Head of the UNODC CoE, highlighted the main activities of the technical assistance provided to the Dominican Republic and the best practices implemented by the National Statistical System, in which more than 30 institutions in the areas of security, justice, and defense participated. The implementation of the ICCS-ARD seeks to unify criteria and procedures to ensure consistency in the data collected and reported, providing quality statistics for the design and evaluation of evidence-based public policies.