As violence continues to spread on the  streets of Panama  including at least five homicides on Christmas Day, lawyer and retired military officer Edgardo Falcón Díaz, told TVN  that the National Police is   70 years out of date  and the force needs to follow Colombia’s example and modernize  its strategies

Falcón Díaz said police officers must be able to deal with all types of cases, between criminal and traffic events and that there is no division in these types of functions because that makes the system dysfunctional.

He recognizes that there has been progress in the use of technology, with the implementation of a  camera surveillance system and with the expansion made by the current administration, but emphasizes that all this will not help if there is no reform in the operation methods. The provision of optimal resources so that agents can give prompt attention to criminal acts is another aspect that must be improved by the authorities, said the policing expert.