Crime, Safety, and the Police

[CountryMan54]

Once you have crossed the border do you need to have your passport on you at all times?

[ClamSlammer]

So true, it will never stop as it is in the DNA of every person with any level of power in Mexico. This IS part of their culture, this is why Mexico will never be a part of the current world, they are and will always be a shit hole of a country.

Some will take offense to this but pull off the blinders and see it for what it is.

Sad but true.

TTM.

Absolutely. Mexicans when they get to know you can have big hearts. But their society has little regard for civility on how they treat strangers that they'll never see again. Theft is built into their way of life. Even amongst "friends. " All one needs to observe is a typical 4-stop sign intersection. In the USA, motorists at an intersection will allow the vehicle that arrived first to proceed first 90% of the time. In Tijuana, 90% of the time the first vehicle to arrive will not the the first to pass. Another motorist will perform a rolling stop and quickly zip in front of others cars that arrived before. This is the typical "me first" mentality that is prevalent here. Mexico will never progress as a society until they learn to put society above self. I'm not holding my breath.

[Hargow20]

My own belief that police enforcement levels largely depend orders from superiors at some higher levels of government. There is also a certain need to stop violence and ratero activity in the Zona as well. The police do shakedowns when they have the opportunity to do so. Part of the problem is that there is disorganized stratified law enforcement in Mexico. They have the military and the Federale, Then there is state police and municipal police. Each of these have their own supervisors and some say they have separate police radio bands as well. The important thing for us is know when crime and police shake downs are on the rise. The only good thing is that there does not appear to be a significant increase in ratero muggings int eh Zona recently. My guess however is that they increasing in local vicinity of the area however.

Agree, that does seem rosy. But I also do think that the well-being of tourists is at the front of many minds. Consider how much money just us perverts on this board put into the Mexican economy. It is significant. These establishments (HK down to the local tienda) would absolutely call the godfather to maintain their well-being, which is fairly high by Mexican standards.

[SaguaroJack]

Have the police been stepping up their random search and shakedowns in the Zona. ? Personally I have only been searched only about 3 times in Tijuana. The odd thing is that one time I went to report a robbery the cops stopped and searched me on the pedestrian street portion of Callle Cohuilla. ?

It would be nice if Mexico had a 4th Amendment. Hell, the US doesn't even have one anymore.

[Dcrist0527]

Hard to offend me. LOL I believe there is a lot of truth to what you say. While I don't think it's in the genes, I do believe corruption has infiltrated every aspect of their culture. It will take generations for real change. People with power love what the corruption provides and those that are squashed by it are and will always be resentful.

And frankly, there is no hope on the horizon.

It is sad because there are some outstanding qualities in the Mexican people. That is a helluva generalization but I believe it.

So true, it will never stop as it is in the DNA of every person with any level of power in Mexico. This IS part of their culture, this is why Mexico will never be a part of the current world, they are and will always be a shit hole of a country.

Some will take offense to this but pull off the blinders and see it for what it is.

Sad but true.

TTM.

[The Tall Man]

You got that right. When I was robbed by the police. And a supervisor was called to the scene. He was not there to make sure the crooked cop was disiplined. He was there to smooth things over and make the problem go away. While he did seem to be pissed the cop was so sloppy he got caught, his main concern was sweeping things under the rug. And that's because he gets a cut from whatever they manage to steal.

So true, it will never stop as it is in the DNA of every person with any level of power in Mexico. This IS part of their culture, this is why Mexico will never be a part of the current world, they are and will always be a shit hole of a country.

Some will take offense to this but pull off the blinders and see it for what it is.

Sad but true.

TTM.

[Dcrist0527]

Agree, that does seem rosy. But I also do think that the well-being of tourists is at the front of many minds. Consider how much money just us perverts on this board put into the Mexican economy. It is significant. These establishments (HK down to the local tienda) would absolutely call the godfather to maintain their well-being, which is fairly high by Mexican standards.

That's a very rosy and optimistic interpretation of the recent violence spike. However, I seriously doubt that well being of the tourists is at the root cause.

[Ctytek]

That's a very rosy and optimistic interpretation of the recent violence spike. However, I seriously doubt that well being of the tourists is at the root cause.

Talked to a guy in Caliente who was of the opinion that shootings in Zona Norte result from Rateros angering the local tourist business owners. Brazil is similar. Once the local business owners start losing business because their customers get robbed, they call the local godfather or police capitan, and the next day some rateros get shot and left in the street as an example to the others. May well be the locals are cleaning out the rateros and sending a message to not bother or rob tourists in Zona Norte.

[Hargow20]

Have the police been stepping up their random search and shakedowns in the Zona. ? Personally I have only been searched only about 3 times in Tijuana. The odd thing is that one time I went to report a robbery the cops stopped and searched me on the pedestrian street portion of Callle Cohuilla. ?

[Baxter Slade]

There is no ending the corruption in Mexico until there are SERIOUS repercussions, the low end guys get away with it because they share with the upper end guys. I know this to be a fact. You report the thief to another thief. What do you gain? It is a sad scene. And it is not getting better. Maybe getting worse. I am a 50 year vet of Mexico. I have seen it all. And it is pathetic.

You got that right. When I was robbed by the police. And a supervisor was called to the scene. He was not there to make sure the crooked cop was disiplined. He was there to smooth things over and make the problem go away. While he did seem to be pissed the cop was so sloppy he got caught, his main concern was sweeping things under the rug. And that's because he gets a cut from whatever they manage to steal.

[Travv]

Talked to a guy in Caliente who was of the opinion that shootings in Zona Norte result from Rateros angering the local tourist business owners. Brazil is similar. Once the local business owners start losing business because their customers get robbed, they call the local godfather or police capitan, and the next day some rateros get shot and left in the street as an example to the others. May well be the locals are cleaning out the rateros and sending a message to not bother or rob tourists in Zona Norte.

Yes I think it is still worth the risk. You can bet the that the cops have stepped up patrols after these recent incidents. The main thing is constantly look to see who is behind you. The other thing is keep reading this forum to keep abreast of the crime trends. When crime goes so does the ratero activity. It is extremely important for everyone to keep reporting on any crime news or sightings.

[Bbond]

The pervasive corruption is the big problem. There is no sense of institutional integrity in the government and law enforcement. If you have enough money you can buy anything you want in Mexico. I am convinced the only way to clean up Mexico's government is to have outside monitoring. I doubt Mexico's govt will ever to agree to this.

There is no ending the corruption in Mexico until there are SERIOUS repercussions, the low end guys get away with it because they share with the upper end guys. I know this to be a fact. You report the thief to another thief. What do you gain? It is a sad scene. And it is not getting better. Maybe getting worse. I am a 50 year vet of Mexico. I have seen it all. And it is pathetic.

[Hargow20]

The pervasive corruption is the big problem. There is no sense of institutional integrity in the government and law enforcement. If you have enough money you can buy anything you want in Mexico. I am convinced the only way to clean up Mexico's government is to have outside monitoring. I doubt Mexico's govt will ever to agree to this.

The deaths are really sad to see. I spent a lot of time all over Tijuana meeting people, all Mexicans, and other than the muggers, the people were nice to me. I was the only gringo everyplace I went. Where I live in the states it's mostly the same anyway. A mall where I live looks like the mall in Tijuana. So I'm used to being the only white guy. But yeah really sad. All these shootings will happen in America if we ever stopped arresting people. Because that's the issue in Mexico.

[Hargow20]

Yes I think it is still worth the risk. You can bet the that the cops have stepped up patrols after these recent incidents. The main thing is constantly look to see who is behind you. The other thing is keep reading this forum to keep abreast of the crime trends. When crime goes so does the ratero activity. It is extremely important for everyone to keep reporting on any crime news or sightings.

With these recent things happening, is the quality of the SGs worth the risk?

[Tommy Boy]

With these recent things happening, is the quality of the SGs worth the risk?