Mexico's Crime and Security Problem

The Instituto de Estudios Ciudadanos sobre la Inseguridad (ICESI) has released a new report detailing the security problems that Mexico is currently facing.

* Chihuahua, Sinaloa, and Baja California (all states where drug traffickers have a heavy presence) are now more dangerous places than Mexico City.

* The study compares the levels of crime in Chihuahua and Sinaloa as comparable to the levels of crime in Venezuela and South Africa.

* Approximately one in five crimes are reported in Mexico.

* 16% of those that do not report crimes state that a lack of confidence in the public ministry is the chief reason. 39% state that reporting crimes is a waste of time.

* Over half of the Mexicans interviewed stated that they do not go out at night for fear of becoming victims to crime.

* 6 out of every 10 Mexicans interviewed do not let their kids go out by themselves.

President Calderon and Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora have been working overtime trying to reduce fears that the security situation in Mexico is out of control. Medina Mora pointed out last week that Mexico’s crime rate has actually dropped from levels 15 years ago. It’s hard to know, since so much crime is not reported in Mexico. What is clear from this study is that Mexicans are feeling more insecure every day. If Calderon’s PAN party is to rebuild from its losses it suffered in July, it must somehow change public perception about insecurity.

With headless bodies being discovered daily in Mexico, stating crime statistics from 15 years ago may not do the trick.