After two years, a boy and a girl decided to end their relationship, but the animosity accumulated in both sets of parents until it exploded in the hallways of a residential building in the San Pedro parish in the Libertador municipality of Caracas.
Fernando Fossi, an officer with the Bolivarian National Police Corps who also coordinates the Community Outreach Office of the Parish's Community Policing Service, told the team Últimas Noticias The case reached the conflict resolution room after a man requested help, tired of living in fear within his own residence.
The man, the father of the young man who had been dating his neighbor's daughter, said that the encounters with the woman escalated from insults to physical altercations in the building's hallway. He recounted that one day his son was walking with his new girlfriend near the building when his ex-girlfriend's mother confronted him with a defiant look and said, "What are you looking at, you calf?" His son ignored her but told him everything. Worried by her behavior, he decided to speak with her about what had happened. He explained that he was motivated by the snub his son and his new girlfriend had received.
When he approached the woman to speak with her, she turned her back on him. He touched her shoulder to urge her to speak, and the woman began hitting both him and his son, who was with him. “It was a case that worried us because the conflict could have escalated if we hadn't intervened in time,” explained official Fossi. He called for the parties involved to participate in a dialogue process that would allow them to find a solution peacefully.
Mediation. The three parties met in the conflict resolution room of the San Pedro Community Police. Before starting the conversation, the officer laid out the points to be addressed, noting that the most important thing was to guarantee non-violence in the building's common areas.
The official allowed the applicants to speak without interruption, and then the accused.
While the victims reiterated their concern about the woman's constant harassment, she gave her version of events. She said she always kept to herself and didn't want any trouble with the father and son. She claimed that on the day of the altercation, the young man "gave me a dirty look," and because she was upset, she insulted him. Then the two men arrived on a motorcycle, and even though she told them she didn't want to talk to them, the man touched her shoulder, which enraged her; that's why she "threw a few punches," she confessed to the officer.
Fossi identified the problem as a build-up of misunderstandings and a lack of communication. “There wasn't just one aggressor here; it was a mutual escalation,” he noted. During the hearing, details fueling the conflict came to light, such as recurring insults and a lack of boundaries in common areas. The mediation focused on making those involved understand that peaceful coexistence inside and outside the residential complex was non-negotiable.
Agreements. The outcome of this process was, in the words of Officer Fossi, “highly satisfactory,” he added. It culminated in legal agreements stipulated in the conciliation agreement signed by those involved in the conflict.
The commitments were, firstly, the immediate cessation of any verbal, physical and psychological aggression, with insults, provocative gestures and comments about each other's personal relationships being prohibited.
Secondly, maintain a safe distance in common areas such as hallways, elevators, and parking lots; if you must cross paths, greet each other neutrally without stopping. Thirdly, any future complaints should be reported to the Community Relations Office, and direct confrontation is not permitted.
The woman apologized for the blows and admitted that her reaction was excessive. The man, for his part, acknowledged that touching the shoulder of an agitated person could have been interpreted as a provocation. The local police will follow up on the case for the next few months.
Regulations. According to Officer Fossi, the goals were achieved thanks to compliance with a series of regulations governing neighborhood coexistence.
The Ordinance on Citizen Coexistence, Civics and Communal Peace Justice of the Libertador Municipality in Caracas establishes in its article 11 the definition of citizen coexistence as the integrated action developed by the State in co-responsibility with the citizenry to ensure and protect coexistence, mitigate risk and eradicate violence.
Article 12 of the ordinance establishes that offenses involving minor physical aggression between neighbors will be subject to community police mediation before any monetary penalty.
In detail
- Foul language. Article 31 of the Ordinance on Citizen Coexistence, Civics and Community Peace Justice of the Libertador municipality in Caracas prohibits the use of foul language, threatening gestures or any form of harassment in common spaces.
- Mediation. According to article 56 of the municipal regulations, the competent authorities, namely the community police, the Caracas Police, the Municipal Coexistence Office, will apply alternative formulas to the resolution of conflicts such as negotiation, arbitration, mediation, conciliation, signing the corresponding conciliation acts for this purpose.
- Notification. Article 57 of the Ordinance states that any person notified to appear before the authorities is obligated to attend. If they fail to do so, they may be summoned a second and even a third time; otherwise, the proceedings will be referred to the special jurisdiction of the community justice of the peace for resolution.
- Violence. According to Article 14 of the Ordinance, every citizen has the duty to report to the competent authorities any type of situation of violence that involves physical, psychological or verbal abuse.
