Security agenda: Chilean lawmakers debate criminalizing ‘serious insults’ against police

Chile’s Chamber of Deputies is considering whether insulting a police officer should become a criminal offense, as lawmakers debate a security proposal that would expand protections for public authorities.

The motion would define serious insults directed at members of Carabineros or the Investigations Police, known as the PDI, as a punishable offense. The project says offenders could face the maximum sentence within the applicable prison category, along with a fine ranging from one to four monthly tax units, equivalent to 71,000 to 286,000 pesos. It would not apply where the conduct constitutes a more serious crime.

Deputy Ximena Ossandón of National Renewal introduced the proposal. Eduardo Durán, Mauro González and Diego Schalper, along with former lawmakers from the previous parliamentary period, also support it.

During Monday’s debate, opposition lawmakers said they favored protecting police officers. They also argued that Chile’s legal system already contains rules intended to provide that protection. Their criticism focused particularly on the creation of what they described as an unclear new criminal category for serious insults.