not at all

Being a north of the border person who may get to spend 6 solid months in and near Zihua, it occurred to me that in el centro at night, given the plethora of resources, municipal and estal policia, army and navy, that a small portion of this "protection" could be put on foot or motorcycle during the higher crime periods : evenings and weekends? It would seem less expensive and more effective . Maybe that is not the point of the multiple military and police vehicles I observed at 6:00pm on 12/7 between la ropa and el centro? I suspect the "bad guys" are able to text each other ahead of time as the check points are being set up.

They actually used to have professional-looking motorcycle cops. But they simply disappeared. I'm going to guess for lack of maintenance to the bikes, like every other vehicle. Instead of having their own vehicle maintenance department the ayuntamiento plays a little game of padding the facturas with private mechanics to skim money, which of course only works short term since the city quickly steals so much money there's none left to pay salaries or provide basic services. But I digress.

For years I've been proposing that the municipal cops beat the narcos at their own game since they also can use radios and move about by various means as well as take advantage of surveillance cameras. And being local they know the area and can walk among locals and position themselves strategically, even wear plain clothes if they like, and at least keep an eye on the downtown area. The idea being to build up a rapport with local residents and shop owners who can report suspicious people to them, such as the halcones who keep an eye out for the narco gangs. Because whizzing by a few times a day in their trucks just doesn't do a damn thing for public security. Local cops are the only ones who can uphold local laws. The state and federal cops don't have jurisdiction. They're window dressing except when they catch someone at a roadblock or simply driving along (very unlikely) or responding to a crime that has already taken place, in which case they're too late.

For the moment the local population perceives the police and the ayuntamiento to be in cahoots with the organized criminals. So there is a huge issue of trust to overcome.

But for starters I believe foot patrols downtown by municipal cops with radios are essential to establishing some trust and also reestablishing law and order.

And it doesn't help a damn thing that the city has allowed two fireworks stores to open recently. Local chisme has it that they belong to organized criminals. The last thing decent folks want to hear are explosions that sound like gunfire or grenades. Some clown thought it was a good idea to light off a petardo at 3:30 this morning in front of our home.

This is a multi-faceted issue that needs several solutions working together, but the fact that so far the municipal government has simply done nothing is unacceptable. They need to echar su granito de arena and supplement the work being done by the forces of the state and federal forces who are working together.

Great op-ed in today's Despertar de la Costa regarding the announcement about increased security for the upcoming Christmas Season. The gist being that public security shouldn't have seasonal solutions but rather integral ones that are constant year round until law and order are restored. You might think that's a no-brainer, but this is Guerrero where there has never been any semblance of law and order that anyone can recollect. Over 2,400 murders in the past year alone and over 400 disappearances, almost none of which have been solved and even less have seen anyone punished. Impunity is the norm. Just ask Frank Sheppard.