Caracal, a little known town in Olt county has become the crime capital of Romania. Here, a number of young women became victims of an alleged serial killer and to this day, no one knows the exact number, or the places where they died. The culprit is not only violent, but also dangerous because of his attempts to disrupt the investigation. 

The culprit, Gheorghe Dincă, is an alleged serial killer accused of kidnapping, raping and killing several young women, some of them minors. One of these girls, Alexandra, gave the world an unprecedented lesson in courage and strength. The sound of her voice, calling the police to come rescue her, will ensure that no one forgets or easily overlooks this tragic case.

Alexandra could be any young woman crying on a street corner, a young woman humiliated by those close to her or an ordinary girl, blatantly exploited, for small pleasures. Is our society ready to save women like Alexandra? 

A year ago Moldova’s General Police Inspectorate received 10,871 reports related to violent crimes – but only 853 criminal proceedings were initiated. What’s more, there were an additional 588 incidents of reported violence that the police rejected due to a lack of evidence in the crime.

In that year, the police also turned a blind eye to about 600 women like Alexandra, who might have lived if the system they had gone to for help had worked for its citizens – for them in particular. The case shocked millions of people: parents and children, lawyers and judges, police and prosecutors, doctors and teachers. Despite the consultations with psychotherapists granted to relatives and those close to Alexandra, the solidarity of those who protested, the interventions of journalists and the reaction of Dincă’s neighbors – all of this came too late for that young girl of just 15 years. 

These days, the Moldovan government has started to reform the entire administrative system, changing people in certain positions and bringing in new or previous ones instead. Things are moving in a new direction, even if no one can assure us that these personnel changes are justified, objective and well founded. 

The Caracal case is not just about the fact that police and prosecutor leadership should be changed, or the way to reform and equip the emergency and investigation services. The Caracal case is about how any employee of these institutions has to have common sense, be well trained, but also be well intentioned. What guarantees do we have that yesterday, today or tomorrow we will not hear insulting, indifferent or absent voices during emergency calls? What guarantees do we have that those receiving these phone calls will respond quickly? What guarantees do we have that police teams can locate the victims? What guarantees do we have that these teams will intervene immediately and professionally? What guarantees do we have that, in special cases related to drug and human trafficking, the police forces will not gang up with those suspected of committing crimes, to the detriment of the victims? 

Today, prisons are full of women wrongfully convicted of “human trafficking.” Their stories are sad and often incredible. Some say the victims were turned into criminals. It may be exaggerated, but it is no secret to anyone – in Moldova, until recently, any human trafficking action took place with the support and under the supervision of the police. But none of those behind the schemes ended up in jail.

Aneta Grosu, aneta@zdg.md