Tijuana Policia likely afraid of being mugged by rateros!
To paraphrase an old saying, only mad dogs and American tourists dare walk the bridge or Tijuana alleys / sidewalks at night! Learned my lesson about avoiding the sidewalks at night. Only walk in well lite streets off the sidewalks unless you want a couple rateros to jump out behind you from an alley or doorway and choke you out. Not fun! At least in the street you can keep a safe distance from alleys and doorways and spot muggers trying to get close to you. Spotted two ratero types a week ago near Pepe's trying to cross the street towards me and so was able to avoid them. Mexican policia know more than tourists so the policia avoid the danger zones to avoid being mugged by the deportees and gangbangers from the USA!
[QUOTE=Hargow20;2028269]When I was in Tijuana last night there was the military were driving around in their humvees. About 5 or 6 of them were at the corner of Coahuilla st & Constitucion. It does seem a bit strange to have many of them around. I personally believe police should be using their manpower more effectively. In the evenings there is typically not any police on Calle Primera or the bridge. This seems ridiculous considering how many tourists travel on that street.[/QUOTE]
The dark and deserted foot bridge on Freedom trail
The freedom trail past the wax museum, farmacia Piri, the Mercado de Artesania, the foot bridge across the Tijuana river to Ped West etc. Is dark and deserted after dark and should be avoided.
The choke-hold rateros do choke and rob people regularly, perhaps more frequently on Mexicans and we just don't hear about them. Outside of the safe zone in front of the bars on Coahuila and the alley, it's safer to walk on the streets away from the sidewalks.
Stay safe, so you can enjoy the chicas' companies for many years to come.
[QUOTE=Travv;2028406]To paraphrase an old saying, only mad dogs and American tourists dare walk the bridge or Tijuana alleys / sidewalks at night! Learned my lesson about avoiding the sidewalks at night. Only walk in well lite streets off the sidewalks unless you want a couple rateros to jump out behind you from an alley or doorway and choke you out. Not fun! At least in the street you can keep a safe distance from alleys and doorways and spot muggers trying to get close to you. Spotted two ratero types a week ago near Pepe's trying to cross the street towards me and so was able to avoid them. Mexican policia know more than tourists so the policia avoid the danger zones to avoid being mugged by the deportees and gangbangers from the USA![/QUOTE]
The tall policia at school girls corner
Tijuana municipal policia are very well armed.
The tall in black uniform with a crew cut on her big head, does foot patrol around the school girls corner. She carries a M4 carbine, a .357 magnum strapped to her right calf, and a large knife strapped to her left hip, radios and whatever weapons she can hide up her big crotch. She looks like the fiercest warrior heading to combat.
This would take the girls to Coahuila corner for search, and she would take her time and delight at groping, squeezing the young girls all over for evidence. One of the girls was embarrassed, blushing, giggling during the search. Guys should be careful around this. With her beefy arms and big hands with large fingers, she can squeeze and bust their balls quickly. Don't even think of asking her for a hand job hehe.
[QUOTE=Hargow20;2028614]This is silly. The police have no fear of being attacked by the rateros. The police carry guns after all. My own belief is that the police are simply lazy.[/QUOTE]
Shooting at 'La Malquerida' in Constitucion
[URL]http://www.uniradioinforma.com/noticias/policiaca/475499/balean-a-un-hombre-en-bar-de-la-zona-norte-policia-detiene-al-agresor.html[/URL]
Police as prey: In crime-swamped Venezuela, cops are the target
In Venezuela, cops are hunted by gangbangers to get the cops motorbikes and guns. Perhaps the Mexican policia are more cautious than cops in Venezuela or American tourists?
"A gang member in Caracas, Venezuela shows off a pistol and bullet-proof jacket he says his associates took from the body of an assassinated policeman. Some 124 police have been murdered in Caracas, Venezuela this year — many of them for their service weapons. Jim Wyss Miami Herald.
At La Urbina police station in eastern Caracas, officers were getting ready to head into a sprawling, violent neighborhood called Petare. Gone are the days when police could patrol the area alone or with a partner. Now they head into the zone in packs of six or more.
Rafael Graterol, a commissioner at the station, said his officers have become economic and symbolic targets. Police from Miranda State, part of greater Caracas, Venezuela, frisk a motorist. The nation's police are increasingly being murdered for their service weapons." In countries with gun control, people take the guns they want from the cops. Since the guns are worth a lot of money.
Read more here: [URL]http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article44290584.html[/URL]#storylink=cp.
[QUOTE=Hargow20;2028614]This is silly. The police have no fear of being attacked by the rateros. The police carry guns after all. My own belief is that the police are simply lazy.[/QUOTE]
Old Book on Tijuana Cops: Poso Del Mundo aka Pit of the World.
For those who want to read a book on this subject, Ovid DeMaris was a muckraker who wrote books about corrupt cops in border towns and Las Vegas years ago. As one victim of the local policia pointed out then, Why would I complain about the cops? Who knows when you will fall into their hands again, si?
Review of Poso Del Mundo: "At the time it was written I might have believed that the author sensationalized border problems. "Poso de Mundo"the lowest pit in the earth- is the term some Mexicans use to describe their own border towns I. E. Tijuana, Juarez, Nuevo Laredo to name the worst. I've lived on the border and recognize full well the corruption and decadence that characterizes these places.
If anyone thought Demaris sensationalized, he should no longer. The border has become one long battleground with powerful drug cartels fighting against and allying with Mexican Police departments as well as the Federal police and the Mexican military, itself. No one is safe. Police chiefs are murdered in Tijuana. Recently, the drug cartel attempted the takeover of Nuevo Laredo but la policia fought back. Victorious, the police announced that they were now taking over the drug business. The Federal Government didn't care for what amounted to open insurrection against its government. We were treated to scenes of the N. L. Police shooting it out with Federales."
Book was written back in the 1970's but reads like it was written yesterday. Available on Amazon for $2.91 used.
The upside to all this is like I have mentioned to local Mexicans a few times. I am a tourist so I am valuable and if anything happens to me it will likely get publicized and wreck the tourist business for a while; but local Mexicans are worth little to the policia because no matter what happens to the locals it likely won't affect tourism. Bad publicity stopped the Navy and Marines from being allowed in Tijuana which has, IMO, turned the Chicago Club into a shell of what it once was and adversely affected many other tourism businesses in Tijuana.
[QUOTE=BaxterSlade;2029551]I have told this story before. I have a friend who use to work in zona norte. One day he went in one of those tiendas close to school girl corner. He witnessed a ratero giving a share of the loot to a uniformed muni cop. While they were joking about a 2 for 1 . Apparently while the ratero was fleeing the first mugging he commited a 2nd mugging. This is so wrong, but as a local it is certainly a see nothing report nothing kind of situation.
Now for some first hand corruption. When I was robbed by the police after the 066 call a supervisor showed up and tried to sweep the situation under the rug, by offering me more money than what was stolen and calling the thieves back to the scene to give me hugs (yea hugs WTF) . So that should confirm that the supervisor has an interest in protecting the bandit police. Probably because the rumors are true that the captains get a cut on all that stolen money.
While I did go to Sinductura I never filed a formal complaint. Seeing how I spend a lot of time in the zona I did not want to be worried about the cop paying a ratero buddy to stick a knife in my back. My hope was Sindictura was run more like Internal Affairs where you could report the bad cop and they would keep an eye on him and set him up. But it does not work like that.[/QUOTE]
The decline of Tijuana tourism
There are no longer young students, sailors and Marines partying rowdily in bars on Revolucion, or couples and families with children strolling happily on Freedom Path in the warm sunshine, shopping for trinkets and eating 3 for $1 tacos and $1 beers.
Tourism today in Tijuana is down to about 10% what it was in 2008. You can blame the downturn on a few main causes, including the shootings and murders by drug cartels, but the passport requirement and off-limits to sailors and Marines are 2 obvious ones. Soldiers are now hanging out in strip joints in San Diego and gang banging US strippers, bringing the jobs home, just what our Commander in Chief, the Donald, would like to see.
Before 2008. Adelita and hotel Coahuila would have a line of dozen couples waiting with towels in hands, waiting for the rooms to open up for screwing, but no more. 2008 Girls working the streets and in bars all saw a massive decline in their business after 2008; the most attractive ones just packed it and went home. HK managed to recruit lots of hot girls from all other states, mostly young chicas from Sinaloa via the ferry to La Paz then a 26 hour bus ride North to Tijuana with high hope of making big money quickly. Unfortunately there are 60 to 80 girls hanging out in HK every weekend the $80 screws are far and few in between. Most new girls would tough it out trying to build up regular clienteles, but most would quit and go home after a few months.
It's pretty sad quite a few bars in La Zona, like Chicago, is now virtually empty. Even then 2 Marine sergeants still snuck over and murdered 2 girls in hotel Hacienda de Santiago about 3 years back. If US soldiers are allowed to blow off steam in Tijuana, the MPs have to be there to protect them and to deal with threats and their security problems. Recently MPs may be way outgunned by the cartels with their 50 cal machine guns and RPG launchers. Hehe.
[QUOTE=Travv;2029641]. Bad publicity stopped the Navy and Marines from being allowed in Tijuana which has, IMO, turned the Chicago Club into a shell of what it once was and adversely affected many other tourism businesses in Tijuana.[/QUOTE]
