The breakdown by procedural phase according to the respective procedural system for the cases analyzed in this exercise is as follows: 84 cases in the preliminary phase (Law 600); 118 cases under investigation (Law 600); 10 cases in trial (Law 600); 155 cases in the inquiry phase (Law 906); 2 cases in investigation (Law 906); and 12 cases in trial (Law 906). This is illustrated in Graphs Nos. 7a and 7b divided according to the applicable criminal procedure.
Graph No. 8 illustrates the average number of days that the different cases under Law 600 have taken since the violent acts took place, grouped by procedural phase reached.
Graph No. 8: Average Time Passed, By Procedural Stage in Law 600 (Number of Days)
Graph No. 7a: Distribution of the Law 600 Proceedings in Sectional Offices, by Procedural Phase (with valid registries) 500
Trial (10)
1000
1500
2000
Preliminary
2500
3000
3500
Investigation
4000
Trial
Preliminary (84) Investigation (118)
Graph No. 7b: Distribution of the Law 906 Proceedings in Sectional Offices, by Procedural Phase (with valid registries)
Investigation (2) Trial(12) Inquiry (155)
For this temporal analysis we took the date of the violent act and determined the time that has passed between the homicide and the cutoff date (September 30, 2011) and determined which procedural stage each of the cases had reached. This allows us to observe the evolution of each of the proceedings in light of the date on which the violent act took place and to draw conclusions about the average time associated with the proceedings currently in each phase. These times were measured in days. In calculating the average time we also identified the minimum and maximum limits (shortest and longest timespans) corresponding to each procedural phase to reveal the range of dates represented in the average.
It can be seen that in the 10 cases that have reached trial, on average 3,619 days have passed since the occurrence of the violent act.117 In other words, the 10 cases that have arrived at the trial phase have each taken on average 9 years and 11 months. The proceedings in the preliminary stage have taken 7 years and 3 months on average;118 and the proceedings in the investigative phase have taken 7 years and 9 months.119 The delay between the occurrence of the violent act and the trial is excessive; especially considering that few proceedings reach this stage. Again, in Law 600 only 5% of the cases have reached the trial phase. The proceedings in the preliminary phase (before the formal investigation), which on average have gone more than 7 years without advancing, are particularly concerning. Looking to the maximum range determined for the 84 cases in the preliminary phase, there are cases that date back to May 1998 without any advances. Likewise, for those in investigation, there are cases dating from 1990. The probability of any advance in the cases with such a long time span is close to none. These are cold cases that are not given any attention and that, with the passage of time, face increasingly serious evidentiary problems.
117 The average amount of time is calculated from the 10 cases in the trial phase; the sample includes all possible cases. The average beginning date of the 10 cases was November 2, 2001. The maximum date is November 30, 1994; and the minimum date is October 15, 2007. The maximum and minimum dates represent the limits of all the cases studied and thus reflect the range of all the dates included in calculating the average. 118 The average time was calculated from the 84 cases in preliminary phase that had valid registries. The average beginning date for the 84 cases was July 4, 2004. The maximum of the date range was May 23, 1998, and the minimum was December 25, 2007. 119 The average time was calculated from the 118 cases in the instruction phase that had valid registries. The average beginning date for these 118 cases was January 4, 2004. The maximum of the date range was July 24, 1990, and the minimum was December 27, 2007.
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