Questioning the Municipal Police

Ana María Salazar makes a pretty good case for centralizing them:

What are we going to do with the municipal police? We also have to be clear about what is happening right now. For years, the municipal police in many states have in fact become part of organized crime. And although a mayor has all of the best intentions of keeping himself away from the activities of these groups, or not participating actively or by omission in the activities of organized crime, the reality is that it is almost impossible for a mayor to block these groups from infiltrating and co-opting the municipal police.

This opens a very interesting debate: has the time come to take control of the municipal police from the mayors? Should Mexico seek to implement the Colombian model in which all police are beneath the control of a [cabinet] secretary? In the case of Colombia, they can be found in the jurisdiction of the Minister of Defense.

I think if the municipal police situation isn't controlled, which is level at which the frontal battle against organized crime should be fought, it will be very hard to win this war. The Colombian model, which permits flexibility in that the police serve locally, but are recruited, trained, and supervised centrally, could be the correct model of operation; the important thing is to debate these reforms, but considering the reality of the country: Mexico is a democracy under siege.

Placing local cops may be the easiest way to improve the competency and honestly of the local cops, but I remain unconvinced that it's the only way. Nor is it inherently impossible for a mayor to maintain the town's police free of organized crime. It may be easier to do so from a federal standpoint, but I worry that this will turn into militarized federal troops patrolling every town in Mexico. The Federal Police today typically drive around in large pickup trucks, with four to six officers outfitted like infantry men seated in the truck bed, which is rather intimidating, and certainly not the ideal model for community-oriented police work. Of course, a centralized police force wouldn't have to operate like that, and, based on the final paragraph, the Colombians seem to have struck a nice balance between central control and local implementation. But Mexico should be clear that centralizing the local police forces a) is not a panacea, and b) has the potential to open up a new ream of problems.