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Mexico Business Intelligence Report (September 2003)
Sheriff Giuliani Reports:
In August Mexico City Police Chief, Marcelo Ebrard, reported on the 146 recommendations submitted by former New York City Mayor, Rudy Giuliani, to improve the security of the city:
- Most of the recommendations address substantive reforms of the ill trained, poorly paid and corrupt Preventative Police.
- They include calls for empowering the Preventative Police with investigative powers and for better crime investigation coordination with the Attorney Generalīs Judicial Police and the judicial system.
- Accordingly, Ebrard will focus on combating the following crimes: street muggings, commandeering of small city buses (more later), bank robberies and to its clients, car theft and illicit drugs sales. The comprehensive report also includes addressing quality of life issues, such as controlling graffiti, drunk drivers, etc.
Comment:
- Although there were no rabbits in Giulianiīs hat, no magic bullets to resolve the endemic crime problem in the city, his report does provide a roadmap and facilitates prioritizing how to address the multitude of problems the city law enforcement authorities are facing.
- The recommendations appear to be viable and adapted to the reality of Mexico City, not merely a cut and paste job from Giulianiīs experience in New York.
- Implementing the recommendations will require a significant increase in the police department budget - Ebrard is already asking for a 10-12% budget increase for 2004. Surely further budget increases will be necessary in coming years.
- Empowering the Preventative Police with investigative powers should ultimately lead to the merging of preventative and Judicial Police functions, and reduce the current inefficient and impractical division of responsibilities. This change will require a Federal constitutional change, which is a slow and cumbersome process.
- Ebrard has not been sitting on his hands waiting for the Giuliani report. For the past year he has been undertaking numerous positive initiatives reported in our previous newsletters.
- Ebrard added that his objective is to reduce crime 10% per year. Considering the magnitude of the problem, it is a realistic target.
Crime Trends in Mexico City:
The Good News:
A Light at the End of the Tunnel?
- Random "kidnap express" is declining. According to the City Judicial Police, from December 2002 through June 2003, kidnap express declined from 3.2 to 2.3 daily (Reforma, 30 June 2003).
- According to a survey by the City National Chamber of Commerce (Conaco), crimes committed against commercial establishments in the city also declined in the second quarter of this year to the lowest level since 1996. (Reforma, 5 August 2003) vDuring the first four months of this year, crime declined in 11 of the 16 city districts (delegaciones). The exceptions were: Cuajimalpa, Cuahtemoc, Iztacalco, Magdalena Contreras, Azcapotzalco, Tlahuac and Tlalpan. (Reforma, 1 July).
The Bad News:
- In July there were numerous incidents of criminals commandeering small public transit buses, known as microbuses, robbing the patrons of their belongings, in some cases raping female passengers, and the two-hour ordeal only ending after stops at ATM machines for cash withdrawals of those bus patrons with credit cards. Comment: City police Chief, Marcelo Ebrard, responded aggressively by firing two police commanders in the areas afflicted by this problem - finally some accountability! - and Ebrard is exploring the installation of GPS panic alarms on these buses to address this problem.
- Phishing (sic) is the practice of sending fraudulent emails purportedly from an Internet service provider (ISP) asking customers to re-enter their personal data because of a company computer crash. The email provides a hyperlink to a web site that looks deceptively like that of the ISP, but is actually run by the scammer. Comment: Be very suspicious of emails asking for personal information, and instead contact the company cited in the email by telephone or a web site address you know is genuine.
Cybercrime Update:
- There is a new variant of the Nigerian scam letters. Itīs from a purported Iraqi official of the Saddam Hussein regime claiming access to funds sequestered in Europe. Comment: If itīs too good to be true, thatīs because it is!
- According to the City Attorney General, there were 3,470 crimes reported in the historical center of the city in the first half of this year, versus 2,639 in the same period of 2001. (Reforma, 6 August 2003). Comment: Although this area has always had a high crime rate, itīs not good news since the city has been trying to showcase this area for many of itīs initiatives to address the crime problem.
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