In an effort to improve the country’s public safety issues, deal with corruption and ineptness, Mexico is looking to revise its local police system. At a conference in Puerto Vallarta safety experts from different Latin American countries and the governors and mayor’s of different Mexican regions gathered to discuss ideas.
The administration of President Felipe Calderon is advocating one police force per state that are better trained, carry more weapons with more oversight thereby eliminating municipal police districts.
There are approximately 165,000 police officers in Mexico and are not to be confused with federal police and the military that also police Mexico and are part of the fight against cartels. Local police make anywhere between $79 to $317 per month and are often the target of bribes and death by drug cartels. Experts at the conference estimated that cartels spend $100 million per month to bribe local police officers.
