The crime figures are alarming in the Judicial Department of La Plata (DJLP). According to official figures from the Attorney General of the province of Buenos Aires, it is the departmental territory where the greatest increase in openings of criminal and correctional cases was registered. The criminal statistics represent the preparatory criminal investigations (IPP) initiated in the province of Buenos Aires during the year 2022 and exclusively reflect the criminal acts that were transformed into criminal cases and are investigated as such within the framework of an IPP, by the prosecutors that make up the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
La Plata as a judicial department (made up of several municipalities) is at the top of the increase in the opening of cases compared to the year 2021, with 17.9%. In 2021, 66,729 files were opened, in 2022 that figure rose to 78,706, that is, 11,977 more cases compared to within the criminal correctional jurisdiction (FCC). It should be remembered that last year was the return to normality after the first isolation and subsequent social distancing due to the coronavirus pandemic.
For the preparation of the same, in the event that more than one crime is investigated in a preparatory criminal investigation (contest of crimes), the first one that was entered into the Information System of the Public Ministry (SIMP) is taken, where the cases are processed. On the other hand, all the IPP initiated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office are surveyed, either for consummated or attempted crimes, and from both jurisdictions: the Criminal and Correctional Jurisdiction (FCC) and the Juvenile Criminal Responsibility Jurisdiction (FRPJ), where they investigate the facts for which at least one minor under 18 years of age is charged or accused.
During the year 2022, 946,510 IPP were initiated in the province of Buenos Aires, of which 924,492 IPP correspond to the Criminal and Correctional Jurisdiction and 22,018 IPP to the Juvenile Criminal Responsibility Jurisdiction. Regarding the FCC, it represents an increase of 9.1% compared to 2021, while the FRPJ represents an increase of 19%.
In eighteen of the twenty judicial departments, there is evidence of an increase in the number of IPPs initiated in relation to the year 2021. The decreases occur in Trenque Lauquen, where there is a decrease in both jurisdictions (1.6% in the FCC and 9.9% in the FRPJ), while in Avellaneda-Lanús the decrease in the total PPI is due to the decrease in the FCC (0.7%). For its part, although San Nicolás registered an increase in the total IPP, in the FRPJ it showed a fall (11.8%).
In the FRPJ, the greatest relative increases were observed in Morón (47.3%) and Pergamino (32.1%).
