Crime in Mexico

Crime in Mexico is among the most urgent concerns facing Mexico, as is the case for many Latin American countries. The principal problem areas are:

Police authority issues.
Corruption and its effect on Mexico's democracy.
Influence of crime in Mexico on the United States of America.

The great economic polarization in Mexico has created a large population of very poor people in Mexico who get involved in crime. Crime in Mexico continues at high levels, and it is often violent, especially in Mexico City, Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez, Nuevo Laredo, and the state of Sinaloa. Other metropolitan areas have lower, but still serious, levels of crime.

Low apprehension and conviction rates of criminals contribute to the high crime rate.

Crime rates

Crime Rates in Mexico per 100,000 inhabitants
	1998	1999	2000
Total Crimes	1433.81	1439.41	1391.54
Murder	14.93	15.13	14.11
Murder with firearm	3.45	4.54	3.66
Assault	254.35	257.39	260.39
Aggravated assault	171.06	172.02	185.01
Rape	11.89	11.9	13.33
Theft	316.71	274.59	219.51
Larceny	148.35	108.09	100.18
Breaking and entering	145.8	153.56	142.53
Fraud	54.66	50.47	50.94
Drug offenses	20.62	23.97	24.65
Source: Seventh Survey, United Nations

Analysis of crime statistics in Mexico indicate that although the crime rate in Mexico has declined over the last 100 years, there has been a significant upswing within the last two decades. [1]

Mexican police

There are four types of local street law enforcement officials. The preventive police, which number 90,000 (more than Canada's army), are by far the most numerous. These include the traffic cops (brown uniforms), the preventive police (blue uniforms) and the two police forces that can be hired as guards, the auxiliary police ("Policia Auxiliar") and the bank and industry police ("Policia Bancaria e Industrial"). They generally circulate in the traditional blue and white squad cars (mostly Chevrolet Cavaliers and Malibus). All of these can arrest people only if they have actually witnessed the crime take place. They have no authority to perform investigations. That is the job of the judicial police ("Policia Judicial del Distrito Federal").

Corruption

Extreme corruption in the Mexican police and Mexican government have contributed greatly to the crime problem.The former Mexican president Carlos Salinas de Gortari and his brother were involved in drug trafficking and the murder of a Mexican presidential candidate.The US State Department has issued advisories about the major crime problems in Mexico[4].

Corruption is a significant obstacle to achieving a stable democracy in Mexico. [2]

Crime in Mexico City

Mexico City's crime rate has begun rising again, after having previously peaked in the late 1990s. Mexico City's inner core has about 8 million people—about the same number as New York City. However, Mexico City's police force is only two-thirds the size of New York City's and is organized into several ill-co-ordinated forces. Policemen earn less than a quarter of their American counterparts, so many cops turn to corruption to augment their pay. And even in the rare cases where criminals do get caught, the courts are often too corrupt and inefficient to punish them. [3]

Influence of Mexico on crime in the United States

Mexico has a major influence on US crime.

Mexico is the largest foreign supplier of marijuana and the second largest source of heroin for the American market. The majority of methamphetamines sold in the United States are made in Mexico, and Mexican-run meth labs that operate north of the border account for much of the remainder. [4]

Mexican drug cartels are responsible for importing 60-70% of methamphetamine into the United States[1-2].Mexican drug cartels have ties to Columbian drug traffickers and other international organized crime[3].These drug cartels use the US/Mexico border as a conduit for drug trafficking. The US is a lucrative market for drug trafficking and the Mexican drug cartels utilize Mexican-American gangs to distribute their narcotics.The Mexican mafia has close ties to Mexican organized crime syndicates.

In 2005, the U.S. State Department defended efforts by the two countries to reduce violence and drug trafficking on the border following decisions by governors in Arizona and New Mexico to declare an emergency in their border counties. The two governors stated that the federal government's inability to control crime and violence related to illegal immigration had forced them to take matters into their own hands. The Mexican government criticized the emergency declarations. [5]

The state of Texas and the Mexican police officials had a conference in San Antonio to discuss ways of coordinating efforts to stop crime but there are questions about how sucessful the program will be. [6]

Many Mexican police officials on Mexican border towns have been targets of assasination by Mexican drug cartels .Drug cartels have even threatened local US law enforcement[7] . Mexican drug cartels have even acquired equiptment like Mexican Army uniforms, Humvees,grenades and .50 calibre sniper rifles which can penetrate most light armour including armoured cars. The US ambassador launched a formal complaint with the Mexican government on this issue.[8]

Effects on tourism

A significant number of United States citizens visit Mexico; the U.S. State Department estimates it at 15 to 16 million per year. Tourists visiting Mexico face a number of problems related to criminal activity, including:

Extortion by Mexican law enforcement and other officials.
Highway crime in which bandits prey on passenger vehicles and tour buses.
Kidnappings, particularly in border cities and Mexico City.
Taxi robberies and armed robbery.
Purse-snatching and pickpocketing.

Due to crime reaching a critical level in Mexico City and many other areas, tourism to Mexico has suffered. [9]

Efforts to combat crime in Mexico

President Vicente Fox took power in December 2000 promising to crack down on crime and improve a judicial system rife with corruption and ineptitude. The official number of reported kidnappings showed a slight decrease during the first three years of Fox's government, from 505 in 2001 to 438 in 2003. Mexico's new Federal Investigation Agency reported dismantling 48 kidnapping rings and saving 419 victims. [10]

Rudolph Giuliani hired to help clean up crime in Mexico City

In January 2003, the security consulting company of former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has been hired by Mexican business leaders to come up with a plan to clean up the city, which has the second-highest crime rate in Latin America. [11]

Protest march against crime

In June 2004, at least a quarter of a million Mexicans marched through the capital and other cities to protest the failure of federal and local governments to control crime in one of the world's most crime-ridden countries. [12]

Mexico deploys federal forces to the border

In June 2005, the Mexican government deployed federal forces to three states to contain surging violence linked to organized crime. At a news conference in Mexico City, presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar told reporters that the new deployment was the result of evidence that organized crime has penetrated some local police departments. [13]

References

Center for U.S. - Mexican Studies, University of California, San Diego