El Universal, 6/3/2010
President Felipe Calderón and the governors of all 32 Mexican States agreed to dissolve municipal police forces nationwide in favor of creating state entities with “a single trusted commander in each state.”
During the 28th meeting of the National Public Security Council, the president promised to introduce legislation in the next congressional session which would help set up 32 state police forces.
President Calderón explained that before the plan is implemented, mayors across the nation will be included in the discussion and given an opportunity to share their thoughts and concerns.
From the Mexico Institute’s Andrew Selee:
“The proposal to have a single police force in each state is tempting. After all, it has been easy for organized crime to corrupt poorly paid and weakly controlled municipal police forces across the country. However, it is also important to remember that well over nine in ten crimes committed have little or nothing to do with organized crime — they are common crimes that include robbery, car theft, and assault. It remains to be seen whether a single statewide police can protect citizens against these kinds of crime as well, and whether they will build the necessary links for citizens to do community policing and patrol neighborhoods systematically. These are all pending debates.”
Click here to view Police Reform in Mexico: Advances and Persistent Obstacles by Daniel Sabet, part of a working paper series that provides analysis of specific challenges for cooperation between the United States and Mexico.
Mexico Institute 