NEWSROOM
Press Releases
CRIME LETTER (June 2002)
Crime Trends in Mexico City:
The Good News:
AFI - The Federal Agency for Investigations:
- AFI has primary responsibility at the federal level for white-collar crime, fraud, kidnaps for ransom and drug trafficking.
- We continue to be impressed with their professionalism, integrity, strategy and personnel.
- Despite the fact that AFI is still in a "start-up" mode, substantive progress is being made on all fronts.
- We must remain patient that AFI's efforts will eventually translate into having a significant impact on organized crime and the current impunity it currently enjoys.
The Bad News:
May 2002 Reforma Poll on Crime in Mexico City:
- Have you been a victim of a crime in the past three months? Yes - 20%! Down from 23% in February 2002, but above the average of 16% in 1999 and 2000, and an average of 18% in 2001.
- What crime were you a victim of?
- Mugging - 64%
- Car theft - 11%
- Home burglary - 5%
- Express kidnapping - 2%
- Where did the crime occur?
- Public street - 48%
- Microbus - 19%
- Public place - 12%
- Home - 10%
- Car - 3%
- Taxi - 2%
- Subway - 2%
- Did you file a police report? Yes - 29%! This represents a significant improvement over the past few years, which averaged only 15%.
- In contrast official statistics of the Mexico City Attorney General's office maintain that crime is gradually declining, from 255,532 reported crimes in 1997, to 171,469 in 2001.
Comments:
- The situation is certainly not improving, and is unlikely do so in the short-term. Random street crime remains a profitable low-risk business activity, and is impervious to the cyclical ups and downs of the Mexican economy.
- While there are positive signs at the Federal level, particularly addressing the cargo theft and kidnap for ransom problems, Mexico City law enforcement authorities, who have the primary responsibility to address the serious street crime problem, have not yet demonstrated any substantive progress. It´s too early to tell whether the new city police chief will result in an improvement. The previous chief of police was only on the job for a little over one year!
Nationwide Survey on Crime in Mexico:
According to the Civil Institute for the Study of Insecurity (ICESI) the primary crime problem lies in Mexico City (Federal District), while many states actually have low crime incidence rates. In 2001, the crimes resulted in financial losses of circa US$5 billion, or the equivalent of 0.85% of Mexico´s GDP. An average of only one in four filed a police report, and 44% of the crimes were violent (Comment: a violent crime in Mexico is a legal term reflecting that the victim was threatened with a weapon, and not necessarily that genuine violence occurred).
In 2001, crimes in Mexican states per 100,000 inhabitants:
- Federal District - 17,718
- Morelos - 5,573
- Baja California Norte - 5,531
- Chihuahua - 4,979
- State of Mexico - 4,778
- Jalisco - 4,272
- Nuevo Leon - 3,988
- Queretaro - 2,445
- San Luis Potosi - 2,356
- Guanajuato - 2,206
- Puebla - 1,940
- Tlaxcala - 1,448
Comment: The negative publicity on crime in Mexico City and surrounding states is fully justified. With the notable exception of the northern border states of Baja California Norte and Chihuahua, most Mexican states are actually relatively peaceful and should not be tarred with the same brush as Mexico City.
Banks in Mexico City are STILL dangerous places to visit:
According to the Mexico City Secretariat for Public Safety, from 1 January through 20 May 2002, 108 bank clients have been assaulted and 39 banks have been robbed in Mexico City. Yes, we are experiencing another crime wave of bank assaults. The problem stems in part from a dispute between commercial banks and the city police authorities over the responsibility for bank security.
Recommendations:
- Avoid making major cash withdrawals from a bank/ATM, but if you must, be accompanied by at least one colleague.
- Preferably patronize a bank/ATM within a commercial shopping center, and not a bank along the street. And immediately after your withdrawal, enter a store to at least simulate some shopping.
- The objective is to persuade whoever may have been watching, now finds you a less attractive target. He has to ask himself - how long will your shopping spree take and how much money will be left?
Thanks for your attention, and please continue to send us your comments, critiques and experiences to improve and enrich subsequent issues to:
Media Contact
Jillian Bernaiche
(602) 889 - 1626