Mexico Urged To Crack Down On Lawless Police Officers

(whilst this does not deal directly of the rapes/killings, it is of interest)

In a capital where some of the most feared criminals wear uniforms, an upsurge in rape, kidnapping and robbery has business leaders calling for drastic measures to rein in crooked cops. There is "a growing and uncontrollable phenomenon of insecurity" throughout the nation, Jose Antonia Ortega, head of a security studies commission at the powerful Mexican Employers' Federation, warned this week. The kidnappings and rapes of three teenage girls by capital police last week has horrified even the most jaded observers. The girls - ages 13, 15, and 18 - approached four officers riding in a patrol car on July 19th and asked for directions. The officers offered them a lift, but then took them to the police stables on the city's east side. There, they held the girls for four days, repeatedly raping two of them. As of Tuesday, 16 officers had been arrested, and nine of them were being held over for trial. The mounted police detachment involved was disbanded and the rest of the 80-man group placed under house arrest. Authorities say an average of 700 crimes involving a weapon and resulting in the deaths of at least six people are committed every day in Mexico.

from the Associated Press