Chile's specialized crime unit investigates over 1,000 cases in three years

The Equipo Contra el Crimen Organizado y Homicidios (ECOH) in the Región Metropolitana of Chile has investigated more than 1,000 cases and secured 850 formalizations during its first three years of operation.

The unit began functioning in 2023 as part of the Calles sin Violencia plan. Prosecutors and police coordinated multidisciplinary teams including criminal analysts and victim support professionals to attend over 900 procedures. These efforts resulted in more than 700 defendants being placed in preventive prison or provisional detention.

National Prosecutor Ángel Valencia stated the group was created to address organized and sophisticated crimes by connecting criminal structures rather than reacting to individual cases. The unit moved from the Fiscalía Metropolitana Sur to the coordination of the Fiscalía Supraterritorial in July. Chief Prosecutor Marcelo Vargas plans to implement a new work model called Fenómenos Criminales to deepen the analysis of cases supported by the Fiscalía Supraterritorial.