Rising Crime Rate

We're not talking murder today, but car robberies: according to the Association of Mexican Insurance Institutions, the number of cars removed from their proper owners' possession has increased by almost 15 percent his year. Some of this comes from organized crime replacing interrupted drug income (at least, that's the most common excuse for car-jackings in Torreón), but I'd say this is also indicative a broader decline in security, made worse by the economic crisis. I've talked to some people who've been car-jacked by guys who seemed really professional (automatic rifles, ski masks, a cool demeanor throughout the robbery), but in most cases the perpetrators seemed more like nervous, hard-up kids.