Luanda: The Chamber of Criminologists of Angola presented a legislative proposal to the National Assembly on Monday to create a Framework Law for Criminologists, aiming to make the involvement of these professionals mandatory within the Angolan justice system. The announcement was made by the president of the Chamber of Criminologists of Angola, Joo M¡rio Cabeya, following a meeting with the First Vice-President of the National Assembly.
According to Angola Press News Agency, the proposal was submitted under Article 167, Paragraph 5 of the Constitution of the Republic of Angola, which allows organizations to submit legislative initiatives to Parliament. M¡rio Cabeya explained that the proposed law aims to make the practice of the criminology profession mandatory; currently, it is an optional role.
"Practicing as a criminologist in Angola is currently optional. With this proposal, we intend to make it a legal requirement at all stages of criminal proceedings," he stated. According to the Chamber's president, the criminologist's involvement should span from the preliminary investigation phase through to sentence execution, including the indictment, trial, and prison system stages.
He clarified that the criminologist does not replace the criminal investigator but acts as a specialist responsible for the technical and scientific analysis of criminal phenomena, evaluating the soundness of investigative procedures and issuing expert opinions. To illustrate this complementary relationship, he compared the link between criminology and criminal investigation to that between medicine and nursing, noting that the latter serves as an auxiliary science to the former.
M¡rio Cabeya also advocated for the importance of the criminological report-a detailed assessment conducted by a multidisciplinary team of psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers to analyze a convict's personality, behavior, and dangerousness-viewing it as a vital tool for the accurate interpretation of facts and adherence to chain-of-custody principles during investigations.
Regarding the prison system, he maintained that an inmate's release should stem not only from the completion of their sentence but also from an assessment of reduced dangerousness achieved through rehabilitation, resocialization, and social reintegration processes.
As for the meeting with National Assembly officials, the Chamber's president described it as positive, expressing confidence that lawmakers would analyze the proposal and deepen the debate on the institutionalization of the criminologist profession in Angola. According to M¡rio Cabeya, the approval of the future law would strengthen the role of these professionals within the justice system and ensure greater legal certainty for citizens.
The Chamber of Criminologists of Angola is the professional body and representative association for forensic science and criminology experts in the country. Established in Luanda, the institution was created to assist authorities in clarifying the causes of crimes and preventing them, as well as to collaborate with agencies such as the SIC (Criminal Investigation Service).
