Representative Torres Cruz urges law to enshrine continuous DOJ prosecutor training; House approves bill

Representative Torres Cruz addressed the House on Proyecto de la Cámara 383 during the Nov. 12, 2025 session, urging colleagues to elevate an existing Department of Justice training program for prosecutors to the force of law.

Torres Cruz said the bill would "eleva a nivel de ley" an institute that the Department of Justice currently runs administratively and argued this would guarantee continuous training beyond changes in administration. He stressed the need for coordinated training between prosecutors, police and other actors who gather and present evidence: "El adiestramiento que recibían los policías en el film no es exactamente el mismo adiestramiento que reciben los fiscales… que todo el mundo cante, toque la misma canción y la misma melodía." He said better coordination and training should lead to stronger prosecutions and higher conviction rates, which he framed as a public-safety benefit.

Torres Cruz thanked the majority floor leader for coauthoring the bill and urged that the body "vote en la afirmativa" so the measure could move to the governor’s desk. The chamber then took the question on Proyecto de la Cámara 383 "según ha sido enmendado" and approved it unanimously in the floor vote.

The text read on the floor included in-room amendments to the bill’s explanatory language and to several lines in the decretive text (substituting references such as "del país" with "de Puerto Rico," and numeric clarifications). The House approved those in-room amendments during the calendar consideration before voting the bill as amended.