BajaNomad - Bribery crackdown continues in Tijuana - Record amount of prosecutions

Bribery crackdown continues in Tijuana - Record amount of prosecutions

Gypsy Jan - 3-7-2013 at 02:13 PM

From The San Diego Reader

By Bob McPhail,

"The longtime practice of offering Tijuana cops a little cash to buy your way out of a legal jam could now land you in jail.

In a March 2 press release, the city's Department of Public Safety reported a record-breaking 57 arrests for attempted bribery in February - an average of around two such arrests per day.

According to police, there were 49 bribery arrests in January, bringing the total so far this year to 106. If the trend continues, officers will easily surpass such detentions made in 2012, when there were 191 arrests. In the first few days of March, there have already been 7 bribery arrests. All the cases have been turned over to the district attorney for prosecution, the Department of Public Safety reported.

Among the January and February cases, according to the news release, the bribes offered ranged from 2000 pesos (about $163) to release a group of drug dealers in the Mariano Matamoros area, to 100 pesos (about $8) to ignore a traffic infraction in the Empleados Federales neighborhood.

One man, caught in possession of illegal drugs in the Tres de Octubre neighborhood, offered officers 300 pesos (about $24) to cut him loose, while a woman who did not want to go before a municipal judge over a traffic violation offered cops 200 pesos (about $16), according to police.

The bribery crackdown is part of a campaign launched by Tijuana mayor Carlos Bustamante, who has pledged to clean up the long-sullied reputation of the city's police force.

In a February 14 ceremony, the secretary of public safety presented special awards to officers who had refused to take bribes."

Any Americans???

bajaguy - 3-7-2013 at 02:20 PM

Be interesting to know how many americans were arrested.

Hook - 3-7-2013 at 02:29 PM

So, is this how it works?

You get pulled over. The officer requests money for the fictitious infraction. You produce the money. You get arrested for bribery.

What you wanna bet this is happening as well?

I'm wondering if Bustamante is publicizing what one does when a police officer engages in mordida? That's more serious than a bribe.

J.P. - 3-7-2013 at 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Hook
So, is this how it works?

You get pulled over. The officer requests money for the fictitious infraction. You produce the money. You get arrested for bribery.

What you wanna bet this is happening as well?

I'm wondering if Bustamante is publicizing what one does when a police officer engages in mordida? That's more serious than a bribe.

Thats only if you dont give him the amount he demands.

JoeJustJoe - 3-7-2013 at 10:06 PM

Quote:

It doesn't always work how you say.

I know many Americans that take out the bribe before even the TJ cop gives them a reason why they were stopped in the first place. That's how scared they are, and it's really a mistake to bribe a Mexican cop like this, it's better to at least wait till they hint they want a bribe, or you ask them, " can't I just pay you?"

Another observation and belief that I have. Is that on Baja/Mexican forums, there are always members that claim they never give a corrupt Mexican cop a bribe under any circumstance, and they are always urging others to do the same as they do.

Sometimes I start wondering why corrupt Mexican cops even bother to bribe Americans in Mexico, because the Americans that stand up to them always seem to get the best of them, or that's the story they tell us.

But we don't really know what happens, and chances are these brave online souls shake in their shoes, when actually stopped by a corrupt Mexican cop, and gives him a bribe before they even ask. So if you're like me, you'll take things you hear on Baja forums with a grain of salt, and follow your own instincts if you're approached by a corrupt Mexican cop.

Now during the Hank Rhon era when he was the Tijuana mayor, shakedowns occurred quite frequently, but they went way way down during the rein of Tijuana police chief Leyzaola, and it's still pretty good if you ask me, and the things that I have heard, at least in Tijuana.

[Edited on 3-8-2013 by JoeJustJoe]

greengoes - 3-23-2013 at 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JoeJustJoe

Sometimes I start wondering why corrupt Mexican cops even bother to bribe Americans in Mexico, because the Americans that stand up to them always seem to get the best of them, or that's the story they tell us.

[Edited on 3-8-2013 by JoeJustJoe]

Yep, I am always stopped by the Policia to take their bribes.

The best place I found to get these bribes is in front of their downtown station on Novena right up from the Marineros Baseball Park. That way I get them all coming out on shift change and they can line up at my car to give me the bribes.

:lol:

freediverbrian - 3-23-2013 at 11:18 AM

There are many of us that will not pay morida . But may more that will pay

monoloco - 3-23-2013 at 12:20 PM

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Originally posted by greengoes

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