Let's just start with a plain fact: Police corruption is rife all over South America. That needs to be said out loud, no matter what country and no matter what denials or excuses are wheeled out by politicos, police chiefs and what-have-you. Part of the problem is the simple deal of paying a low salary to somebody who can legally walk round town with a gun strapped to their hip and wide-ranging powers to make other people's lives difficult, but another significant part is that many people join police forces in South America because they know they'll be able to get "two salaries" (as the phrase goes round this way), with the unofficial one much higher than the official one.
Despite that, I'm often impressed (for want of a better word) by the new and inventive ways cops find to add to their take-home pay. Here's a novel variant reported by AP, brought to light thanks to that good Bolivian resource, Boliviasol (my translation). Just another day in paradise, folks:
Despite that, I'm often impressed (for want of a better word) by the new and inventive ways cops find to add to their take-home pay. Here's a novel variant reported by AP, brought to light thanks to that good Bolivian resource, Boliviasol (my translation). Just another day in paradise, folks:
The Bolivian government has suspended the licenses of two private clinics that allegedly have illegal agreements with police officers so that police bring them road accident victims, according to government minister Sacha Llorenti.
The minister said during a press conference that 10 police officers are being investigated in La Pax and its neighbouring city, El Alto.
Llorenti mentioned three recent accidents in which the injured passengers were not taken to the nearest clinic as required by the law, but to other more distant clinics because it is suspected that they paid the police officers.
In one of the cases, one of the injured died before reaching the hosipital. The police that attended the injured person drove four kilometres in in an hour of high traffic density to take the person to a clinic when there was another medical centre close at hand.
"There are people profiting from the pain of others", said police commander Oscar Nina at the same press conference. The case has been sent ot the public prosecutor and the investigation may result in the definitive suspension of the clinics involved.