Police Are The Problem, Not Solution in Mexico
by Ricardo Sandoval
MEXICO CITY - In the Mexican state of Sinaloa, 164 people have been murdered so far this year, but few suspects have been arrested. In southern Mexico, authorities are tripping over themselves to link one man to dozens of homicides. And along the border with Texas, bus drivers were arrested in the violent deaths of women in Ciudad Juarez that had gone unsolved for years.
Outdated police organizational structures and investigative methods - plus police forces staffed with poorly trained, poorly paid and often corrupt cops - have made it possible for violent criminals literally to get away with murder.
Amid widespread fears about public safety in Mexico, municipal chiefs in Mexico City, for example, are weeding out bad cops by the score and doubling salaries and benefits to $700 a month for those who complete exhaustive retraining. But even optimists say it will take years of political willpower to make policing a respected profession in Mexico.
"At the edge of the 21st century, Mexico is still operating with a 1910 police force," said Guillermo Velasco, president of Mexicans United Against Crime, a group founded by business leaders here concerned about rampant crime. "This country won't develop unless police do."
Police estimate that the number of crimes reported in Mexico City has doubled to about 700 a day since 1993, but the real total is about 10 times the reported number, one observer suspects. And authorities estimate that only two in 10 crimes reported result in conviction.
"People don't report crime because a bureaucratic and outdated process condemns them to months of paperwork and court appearances," said Paul Magallanes, a former FBI agent whose security firm has a growing number of Mexican clients. "More important, people might find themselves in danger if they report a crime in which a cop was involved."
Says Mexico City criminologist Jose Antonio Parra, "Mexicans distrust police. They figure the cops are probably behind many of the murders anyway, so they're not going to get outraged over mass murders."
Most of Mexico City's 95,000 cops are paid roughly $350 a month. A small apartment in a working-class area runs $150 a month.
When cadets emerge from police academies, few have mastered modern investigative techniques. As a result, evidence is lost or misplaced.
Copyright 1999 Seattle Times