Crime, Safety, and the Police

[The Shaft]

When crossing back to the US, it all depends on who you encounter at the entry point. If you come across some gun-ho prick, be ready to be questioned, especially if you look Mexican. On the other hand, some may just ask your citizenship, and boom, you cross. If I were you, I'd carry your passport, but I don't blame you for not wanting to.
In general, most of the immigration officers have a pretty good nose of whose trying to weasel their way in or not.

Technically a driver's license is a valid form of ID, but however doesn't necessarily show that you might have legal residence in the US.

[Danny G]

Hola Amigos,

I have a question about returning back across the US border.

My question is, will I have problems crossing back into the US. I'm a filipino-american, thus am frequently mistaken for being Mexican. Will my driver's license be sufficient to cross back to the US? I'd prefer to take my US passport, but I recently lost my passport and naturalization certificate and it will be a while before I can get replacements.

Thanks,

Danny G

[tjmonger]

Here's an interesting article on TJ safety that I saw on Inside Edition the other night.

http://www.insideedition.com/investigative/Tijuana.htm

Makes you think twice about going down there.

[Big Baller]

I've been reading all the postings about being fucked by the police in Tijuana, I don't live in "TJ"right now but I was born and raised there and I go in a regular basis, and there are some things I would like to say about it.

1- Police in TJ are like dogs, they can smell fear, but they smell attitude and arrogancy too, when stoped by a TJ cop, don't fear, but don't be rude either.

2- This may be hard to believe to many of you, but TJ police is not really harmfull, they play the bad guys, and if you buy it, they'll get you and everything you have on you right there. The last thing a TJ police wants to do is hurt an American, TJ is a big city ( yeah its a big city even though most of you have only been in ''El centro") but much of it's income comes from tourist (and they don't care if you are there to buy a mexican sombrero, to get drunk or to get a cheap piece of ass) so they know if something bad happens to a tourist in police hands they'll get in serious trouble, and not only one officer but the whole department, wich leads me to the next point.

3- when you bribe an officer, he doesn't get to keep all that money, he has to share it with his chief and his chief shares it with his chief, so is kinda useless to get a name, badge number, or patrol car number, because the police department is not gonna do anything about it, and the US embassy has no direct influence in Baja state, and another hard to believe thing in Mexico is that not even the Mexican goverment knows how many cops there are, this means that a police officer in mexico can be working with a fake name, many diferent badge numbers, and in diferent cars every day, and since there is no registry or a database of names or numbers, finding the guy who took your money is very dificult or imposible.

4- Don't believe all the urban miths about TJ and even if its your first visit down there don't act disoriented, dont get nervous when with cops and dont let them take all you have, if they say 100 you say 20 and so then it'll end up being abbout 35.

5- And last, no arms, drugs or any legitimate reson for them to fuck you up, cause they will, and theres no 100 dollar bill that is gonna save you from visiting one of the most exclusive TJ's suites, "La carcel 8"

[Donkey Punch]

If drunk drivers are causing half of all the problems, who is causing the other half? On another note: Cali is a police state only because (and this was explained to me by a few member of the Chicago P.D.) our Cali police force is young, somewhat inexperienced and insecure. They are not able to look at "us" (not necessarily a color thing) and be able to make a split second decision. They are going to shoot first, strike first, etc. because they don't want to get hurt. A seasoned officer is going to be able to look at a situation / person and be able to tell if there is going to be a problem. Somehow here in L.A. they are either not willing or able to do that. Si o no?

Love,

DP

[Arbol Solo]

I have been to TJ twice but I have been reading extensively about it.

I see people 10 feet away from cops and negotiating with the SGs, with no problem.

Shakedowns: The news is that TJ city is now very strict with corrupt cops. Several people have written that they immediately tried to read the name of the officer from the badge and made him aware that the person knew his name. That was enough to scare the corrupt cop. You have to file complaint with local authority for action, and not US consulate. Action is taken if you do so.

Be respectful to cops. I think that is their weak point. A gringo acting arrogantly would get in trouble. Never use a curse word. I know someone who recently was arrested and fined by judge for using bad language. And he didn't curse the cop. Just muttered something with 'f***' word.

A chica from AB stole money from my vallet in the room. I caught her before she could run away. Luckily I have two large bills in my vallet and I exactly remembered what it was. So they searched her and found the two bills. She was fired. They called the police (5-6 cops reported). They asked my name and address just for report. They didn't ask a single question what I was doing in the room with her. I didn't want to press charges so I just walked away. They didn't bother me.

I think all the advice in last post was excellent. I intend to follow these directions when it comes to how much and where to carry the money.

I usually stay at Cascadus and bring the SGs up to my room. Just be careful to keep all your staff in one area and watch it. I saw one chica trying to get close to my stuff for no reason. I then watched her closely till she left.

If a chica asks for money in advance, I always refuse it. Most of the times, they agreed for a 'despues' payment.

[Smut Villain]

Greetings,

I've actually lived in Tijuana for about 5 years, and I've pick up some tips (through locals or personal experience) that should help you stay relatively unmolested:

(1) The ONLY time I've ever been fucked with by LE was when I was in my car. Period. Something about California license plates just causes dollar signs to appear in their eyes. That's why I either walk or take a cab when I'm in Zona Norte.

(2) I keep my ATM card in a plastic sleeve in my shoe, and I leave the wallet at home. I usually have a seperate "mordita fund" of about $20-$40 U.S.D. in a conspicuous place on me (I've only had to use it once, but it's there just in case).

(3) I stay sober, especially when alone. You wanna get "borracho" (drunk)? Stay the hell in your motel room, and don't come out FOR ANYTHING. Being drunk isn't a crime in Mexico (I don't think so), but it makes you such an easy mark for banditos and corrupt LE alike.

(4) In Zona Norte, if you venture past AB or CC (or the Manhattan Club), you are indeed asking for it. Keep your ass in the well-lit, populated areas.

(5) If you're going to be on the street after 2 am, taxis are an excellent idea. I've never been fucked with on foot, but there's always a first time.

(6) Re weapons: everything from pepper spray to pistols are highly illegal in Mexico. Leave them at home, or we won't be hearing from you for a while.

(7) If anyone tries to give you a sales pitch on the street, break in the other direction with no delay. Don't even stop to give the time of day (some of these fake "vendors" DO work with the "Policia")

(8) I don't buy shit from the Farmacias (drug stores), not even aspirin, when I'm downtown. It gives the TJ cops a pretense for a shakedown, and U.S. Customs at the border wouldn't exactly greet you with open arms either.

One more thing: I used to be in the Military Police, and I still have my Badge and I.D. I was stopped one time (when I was still in the Military) and frisked. When the cops came across my credentials they left me alone and treated me like a friggin' brother; it shocked the hell out of me (I thought that TJ's Finest were incapable of honor)! Not that I'm advising that you get some (fake) credentials, but I think maybe that this could be an idea some might try (I also hear it works great with F.D. credentials as well).

I'm not claiming to be some expert or anything, but I've been living there awhile and have yet to see the inside of a TJ cell. I must be doing something right. Besides, all this shit I'm talking about is either things I've witnessed or things that have actually happened to me, so I know this advice works.

Be careful out there, guys.

[Jaimito Cartero]

I was thinking that it would be interesting to set up a hidden camera in your vehicle and get all the info on tape from a traffic shakedown in TJ. I don't live in So Cal, but am surprised that a local station hasn't done it yet. Anyone ever hear of this being done?

[Traveler X]

i can attest the reports of shakedowns in tj, especially in the last few years. i know many people from personal life who make trips there. some of my friends have gone to tj and had no problems, some of my friends have gone and been searched (normal), others have had to bribe their way out of fictitious traffic infractions, and some have been outright extorted by police. this has been happening most often in the last one and a half years.

when my friend was robbed by the tj police, he filed a report with the us consulate in tj. he was told several americans (and one mexican) had been extorted that same week and also filed complaints, and that there was a recent spike in extortions. i've seen the crime report he filed, and this isn't a joke. this was around spring of last year, and he was "arrested" around midnight near adelitas. needless to say, he never made it to the police station, but instead was set free off an unlit alley with an empty wallet. he tells me he committed no crime (i don't know, but he's a pretty straight person) and that the police were actually changing their story as to why they picked him up. when they eventually claimed that they had found illegal prescription medicines on him and showed him an empty packet that was not his, he offered to pay rather than gamble on it. in the end, they drove him around for about an hour. i'm told by some veterans that the tj police usually don't try to plant evidence, but i wonder if things have been changing over the years. people are talking about paying for fake traffic violations, and there is also that woman who was raped over another prescription drug arrest. maybe tj has so few real criminals now that the police can't find "legitimate" reasons to extort someone.

i'm pretty sure tj wasn't always this bad for foreigners, because even some veterans i personally know are getting shaken down their first time in years. i think if this happens to anyone, at least report it to the us consulate, because they're the only ones who can legally look out for americans in tj. if this problem is as real as it seems, i'd like to know that someday it'll be fixed to where more people can be making the trip safely.

[Jaimito Cartero]

it's strange, i've driven thousands of miles in mexico and have never had any problems with police, except in tj. my buddy and i were driving back from baja california and i took him to adelitas for a little refreshment.

after we left, and were heading to the border, we get pulled over by a motorcycle policia and told how the terrible gringos were speeding. we were moving with traffic at about 25mph. they took my buddys license and told us to follow them to the police station.

of course, we don't go to the police station, but to a quieter place to see how much they can shake us down for. they started to say that, "oh you don't want this ticket to get on your insurance and raise your rates". yeah, like a tj police ticket is ever going to show up on your us insurance.

they wanted $100 or so, and my buddy had $40 left over from adelitas and he just gave them that. i've had some good experiences in tj in the 80's and 90's, but thing like this just make me not interested in ever going there again.

[Rabo Verde]

Got dropped off tonight at the SENTRI border crossing point by a Taxi around 1 AM. A couple of TJ cops came and shone their flashlights in my face and ordered me to empty my pockets. They kept asking me if I bought any pills or Viagra. I was clean, so they reluctantly let me go. It was clear they wanted to shake me down if they found any excuse.

[King Monger]

About a month or ago i was in the zone a few blocks south of the alley, scouting for SGs when a local called me over trying to sell viagra. After looking at the pill with a package that looked tampered with, he gave me some massage parlor card as I left.

2 blocks later the local police call me over and start the shakedown.

After asking for ID and wondering if it was my 1st time in TJ (this was afternoon) the asked me to empty my pockets looking for drugs. I assured them I have never taken any of any kind I kept waiting for the punchline, which never came. The handed me back my wallet after not finding anything and sternly warned me to not talk to guys and the street, and to head back towards the main drag.

With my tail tucked between my legs I was so relieved I escaped with no bribe money and no threats of beating, I hightailed it back to the safety of Adelitas and my $60 chicas. Lessoned learned for this gringo, dont stray too far from base, especially when along and be careful who you talk with.

Happy Humping

KM

EDITOR's NOTE: Posting of this report was delayed pending revisions to capitalize the word "I". To avoid future delays, please use a capital "I" to refer to yourself in future reports. Thanks!

[The Wizard]

I also had an ex employee who tried to use phony money in TJ. He tried to use a fake $20 at a club. It didn't work. The police were quickly there and took him away.

I don't know how long he was locked up or what fine he paid. We had to let him go for not showing up at work.

I suggest that nobody try this. They've been using US dollars for along time and can probably spot a fake as good as anyone in the US.

[Joe Driver]

From US embassy in Mexico:

In some instances, Americans have become victims of harassment, mistreatment and extortion by Mexican law enforcement and other officials. Mexican authorities are concerned about these incidents and have cooperated in investigating such cases. However, one must have the officer's name, badge number, and patrol car number to pursue a complaint. Please note this information if you are ever involved with police or other officials. In addition, tourists should be wary of persons representing themselves as police officers or other officials. Request evidence that any such people are in fact who they claim to be.

Consulate Nuevo Laredo
Allende 3330,
Col. Jardín
Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas 88260

Phone: (867) 714-0512
Fax: (867) 714-7984

Office Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. / 1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Principal Officer: Thomas Armbruster

Also found: Concerned U.S. citizens may contact the U.S. Embassy or any U.S. consulate to discuss precautions that they should take. Four Americans were kidnapped in separate incidents in Nuevo Laredo during the Spring and Summer of 2002.

CRIME IN BORDER CITIES: Visitors to border cities such as Tijuana , Ciudad Juarez, Nuevo Laredo, and Nogales should remain alert and be aware of their surroundings at all times. Visitors are very vulnerable when visiting the local "red light districts," particularly if they are departing alone in the early hours of the morning. Municipal and traffic police are aware of the danger and regularly check the area for persons carrying weapons or drugs and for drunk drivers. Nonetheless, Americans can still fall victim to crime in these districts. In Ciudad Juarez, there has also been a rise in automobile accidents in which municipal police extort money from U.S. citizen victims.

Just various comments I found on these US Embassy, and US consulate internet websites, pertaining to Mexico, and Nuevo Laredo.

Joe Driver

[Mutha Foo]

Explorer, that may be the case. This friend of mine is not the most honest person in the world and has been in trouble before but it was for assualt charges in the U.S. I only know his side of the story. Although, using funny money in TJ is not a bad idea. I have thought about it on occassion but I'm too lazy to pursue it. I'd rather just pay the girls in real dollars and be done with it. It may very well be that he made and attempted to use funny US money and got busted. Regardless, his family is having one hell of a time getting him out.

Mutha.