E/CN.4/2004/80/Add.3 page 14 30. Since the Indigenous Peoples Act was adopted, it has been possible to deal with these problems through administrative procedures conducted by CONADI, which are generally aimed at negotiating with the parties and acquiring the disputed land for subsequent allocation to the indigenous people. However, this solution has been gradually becoming less effective for various reasons, including the limited resources of the Land Fund, the gradual rise in the asking price for land that is to be expropriated or sold - either because of improvements made (to plantations or buildings) or because of speculation related to the growing demand from indigenous people - and the constantly growing number of land claims. 31. Because it is becoming increasingly difficult to find and apply timely solutions and because pressure, mainly in the form of the seizure of lands by the Mapuche, is growing, the preferred course is to take these problems to the criminal courts. In the last few years there has been an increase in the number of criminal cases brought against the leaders of Mapuche communities and organizations. These cases are reportedly related to offences against private or public property and attacks on police officers during protests or the occupation of land and buildings. In addition, several informants expressed concern about the large and permanent police presence in the communities, where inquiries were sometimes accompanied by physical and verbal abuse, leaving the population in a state of fear. 32. In recent years, Chile has reformed its rules on criminal procedures. The reform includes the following measures: a division of the tasks of investigation, defence and judging/sentencing between the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Public Defender’s Office and the judge or court; the elimination of secrecy during the pre-trial proceedings; the introduction of oral proceedings during the trial; the possibility of taking preventive measures other than pre-trial detention; and the possibility of handing down sentences suited to the social and cultural circumstances of the accused as an alternative to imprisonment. 33. As pointed out to the Special Rapporteur by the national authorities in this branch of government, the reform establishes a procedure that guarantees the rights of the parties better than the inquisitorial procedure that predominated in previous legislation. In particular, the new system provides for the use of a person’s mother tongue and the presence of a translator; guarantees that defence counsel will be provided by the State; allows a number of cultural and social factors to be taken into account as mitigating circumstances; requires any evidence provided by community authorities to be evaluated; and permits alternative punishments to imprisonment. 34. The reform of criminal procedure is being introduced gradually throughout Chilean territory. Region IX is one of the first two regions where it is being put into practice: the relevant institutions - the Regional Prosecutor’s Office and the Public Defender’s Office - have been set up. The Regional Prosecutor’s Office has posted one of its officials (a prosecutor) to the regions with the highest density of Mapuche inhabitants and the Public Defender’s Office has started a special programme to deal with cases in which the accused is a Mapuche.