The Mason Giovanni López was on 4. May in the Mexican town of Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos in Guadalajara of ten municipal police officers arrested. Due to aggressive behavior, says Enrique Alfaro, the Governor of the state of Jalisco. Because he wasn't wearing a Mouth guard, say the Relatives of Giovanni Lopez. The next Morning, the 30-Year-old was admitted to a Hospital and died there of cerebral hemorrhage. According to the findings of the human rights Commission of the state of López in the police was tortured custody and beaten to death.

Three police officers were therefore fixed. Now colleagues demonstrated against the criminalization of their profession. "The government and the Institution leave us alone. We do not have clear protocols, nor training", complained a few Hundred Uniformed on Monday in Mexico city.

police violence is a structural Problem in Mexico. The relationship of trust between citizens and security forces is shaken. And not only since the case of the 43 student teachers from Ayotzinapa. They had been attacked by police and Criminals, and were then kidnapped. Until today it is unclear what is happening with the students. Probably they were murdered. The case attracted worldwide attention and made it clear that Mexican police officers can also be death squads in the Pay of corrupt politicians and drug cartels. Mexico's police lands for years, with political parties, trade unions and senators in surveys regularly on the rear seats of the most trusted institutions in the country.

torture in Mexico far

widely used to Pay for police violence are hard to get, criticized the security expert at the center for Economic research and teaching (CIDE), Catalina Pérez Correa. A report of the Online portal "Ruido en la Red" ("noise in the network"), according to it took per day for two arbitrary detention. According to the UN, torture in Mexico is still a widely used means to force confessions. Almost half of all detainees said before the judge that they were intimidated or abused, according to a study of the CIDE.

Edgar Cortéz from the Institute for democracy and human rights (IMDHD) attributes this to the poor training and low pay of the police officers. The Training lasts for just half a year, the earnings is, on average, the equivalent of 200 US dollars on a monthly basis. "Neither of you are trained psychologically, nor are there clear protocols for appropriate use of force in situations of crisis or an external evaluation," is one of Cortéz. "The police officers are left alone and often have to serve as scapegoats."This was supposed to change in 2016, which entered into force Reform of the code of criminal procedure, but politicians invested rather in modern courtrooms with video cameras that you can dedicate to the audience effectively, instead of in the little bit of visible in-service training of police officers. The dysfunctional police is also a Problem of Mexico's federalism, the unit sent to every mayor and every Governor, its own police force, which many viewed as a personal goon squad. The professionalization of the police, politicians were not really interested, suspected of Cortéz.

With a strong Central police against organized crime

Although there are also positive examples, such as in the States of Aguascalientes or Querétaro. There, the eponymous main cities have formed their community police officers as neighborhood police and to provide regular information events for the citizens. "But the Governor goes there, it can go fast," security expert Pérez-Correa to consider. The answer of the last four presidents on the issue was always the same: recentralization. The municipal police of failing in the fight against Organized crime, the reading is, therefore, a strong centralized police had to. Also, from any President's re - by the Federal police and the Gendarmerie to the current national guard. Used it little: violence and crime in Mexico. 2019 was a record year with 35.588 murders; 2020 is likely to be, according to the murder rate in the first four months of deadly.

For some years now, public safety will become increasingly militarized. The army's Reputation is in the population. She has nearly 300,000 men under arms, is represented throughout the country and has a clear command structure. President, Andrés Manuel López Obrador has, therefore, the national guard is the military. Human rights activists think that is a mistake. "In such a vast country, you need to have a neighborhood police, the works preventively," says Pérez-Correa. President López Obrador has this created while in 2019, but money in the budget, he has not provided for it.

The military according to the Constitution for the national defence is responsible and not for public safety, for which it is formed, is you to consider. Between 2012 and 2018, the law Commission were submitted to the National people 4600 citizens ' complaints against soldiers. They range from illegal detentions to extrajudicial executions.

author: Sandra White

*The post "police and citizens in Mexico - is a broken relationship" published by Deutsche Welle. Contact with the executives here.

Deutsche Welle

Date Of Update: 18 June 2020, 10:26