Criminalistic and criminological analysis of the Thomas Restobar case in Peru in the context of sanitary measures by COVID-19: A case study

TL;DR

This study analyzes the Thomas Restobar incident in Peru, where 13 people died due to non-compliance with health protocols during a police intervention amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Contribution

The study introduces a criminological framework to evaluate protocol adherence and proposes preventive measures to avoid similar tragedies.

Findings

Deficiencies in six subcategories of protocol adherence led to 13 deaths from asphyxiation.

Non-compliance with health norms by attendees and security agents was a key factor in the tragedy.

Experts identified the need for an 'Expert School' and experience categorization to prevent future incidents.

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to collect and analyze the experiences in regard to the application of criminalistic and criminological protocols and procedures, which were used to carry out the intervention in the premises of Thomas Restobar in Peru, in the context of the declaration of sanitary measures to control COVID 19. This police intervention resulted in the death of 13 people.

Methods: For the collection of information, we used the focus group technique, for which a script was designed and validated by five experts, considering six major subcategories: C1SC1: Joint investigation and prosecution work, C1SC2: Protocols and guidelines, C1SC3: Chain of custody (police, experts, and prosecutor), C1SC4: Quality of results; C2SC1: Participation of agents of Thomas Restobar and the municipality, C2SC2: Compliance with DIGESA-DIRIS health regulations. The study was approved by the Institutional Research Ethics Committee of the Universidad Norbert Wiener, with approval file N°864-2021.

Results: From the criminological analysis it became evident that the deficiencies identified in the six structured subcategories have led to the tragic death of thirteen people from asphyxiation. The people who attended this bar did not comply with the sanitary norms, exposing the health and life of their relatives and other people. The security agents of the premises and of the Municipality of Los Olivos did not comply with the norms of supervision and control, which finally led to the unfortunate death of 13 people from asphyxiation, closely related to the case of Utopia, in 2002.

Conclusions: When evaluated by the experts of the focus group, it has generated two emerging categories: creation of a School of Experts and the categorization of the experience, which would prevent cases like Utopia and Thomas Restobar from happening again.