MEXICO CITY – Mexican President Felipe Calderon has sent lawmakers a proposal to abolish Mexico's notoriously corrupt and ineffective municipal police
forces.
Under the initiative, each of Mexico's 31 states would have just one police department under the command of the governor.
Calderon raised the idea months ago and formally submitted it to the Senate on Wednesday. He says the goal is to reduce corruption by eliminating
hundreds of small police departments whose officers are poorly educated and badly paid.
Mexico has more than 2,000 local and state police departments. Many have been infiltrated by powerful drug cartels. And in some small towns, entire
forces have quit after coming under attack by gangs that easily outgun them.sanquintinsince73 - 10-6-2010 at 10:37 PM
Batten down the hatches. Once these cops know for sure that they are gone, they'll squeeze every last mordida possible.
Just got to the article during my morning newspaper reads, thanks.
The article displays optimism on this planned strategy becoming a reality.
1. Does Calderon have the political support to make a change to what looks like martial law?
2. What happens to the current local police officers?
3. Will changing the uniforms on the street really change the behaviors?
4. What are the unintended consequences?(as SQS73 suggests)
5. ???
[Edited on 10-7-2010 by bajadock]DENNIS - 10-7-2010 at 09:14 AM
They should keep their local police forces and confine their activities to traffic infractions enforced by a judicial system that won't tolerate
street-fine abuses.Woooosh - 10-7-2010 at 09:25 AM
Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
They should keep their local police forces and confine their activities to traffic infractions enforced by a judicial system that won't tolerate
street-fine abuses.
The Mayor of TJ says the local municipal forces will stay. Maybe the Rosarito cops
will become meter maids...
Here's the AFN article today with a quick google-translate
Single command local police will not go away: Ramos
Written by AFN on October 06, 2010 in General
TIJUANA BC 06 OCTOBER 2010 (AFN) .- After the republic's president Felipe Calderon signed the reform initiative that aims to enliven the Unified
Command Police called Tijuana Mayor Jorge Ramos clarified that this does not mean the disappearance of municipal police. In an interview, the local
leader said at the outset that the proposal signed by Calderón Hinojosa was based on the work of coordination that exists in Baja California, "where
the only control is the General Alfonso Duarte." "Fortunately, the reform that the President is having has to do with the experience of Baja
California, here is the sole command is Gen. Alfonso Duarte Mujica, it is he who has operational control and with whom they report all police officers
of any state-level governments, "he said. Hernández Ramos stressed that this reform would not affect the pattern of fighting crime that is
implemented in the state, but simply "is given a legal framework which is now pure political will of President Calderón, Governor of the State and the
mayor of Tijuana. "
"What's really going to mean this single command, is that corporations will continue to address each constitutional role but would be the operational
command of a single command, that will guarantee and ensure the coordination for reach-come, is the party that is, public safety is outside the
political control and is fully in command of the police leadership in one person ", he said.
Finally, the mayor of Tijuana municipal police said they will not disappear as a corporation, "as it has to continue to provide the preventive role
that local police can only give it."
"The municipal police have tasks proximity with people, traffic has tasks that no other order of government has, but what concerns (Calderon's
proposal) is that when it comes to fighting crime, they will serve a single command, "he said.
