[PUBLIC] Barney Fife State
A few years back, there was a movie. That movie had as one of its more famous quotations, "People should not be afraid of their government, government should be afraid of its people." I always thought there was a certain logic to this statement, but spending some time in Mexico has made me wonder. Specifically, about the law enforcement arm of the government, which if I recall correctly, was somewhere near where this quote was pointed.
Mexico's police force is technically a government agency, but receives fairly minimal funding. As a result, its fairly common for an individual in Mexico City or the surrounding areas to be stopped by police and cited for some violation, real or not, and made to pay in cash, on the spot, without documentation. I've talked to a few of our consultants who have spent considerable time in Mexico, and they've almost all had this type of encounter with the local police, but apparently it is accepted behavior. The people I spoke to, at least, acknowledge the police are underpaid and this is how they make ends meet.
Meanwhile, I've personally witnessed petty theft, obvious corruption, and flat-out bribery off officials in sight and hearing distance of an otherwise idle officer, with no response. When I did some research, I discovered that homocide against police officers is a real problem in Mexico, and the perpetrators often go uncaught. Say what you will about US police forces, but they go after cop killers with an unholy passion. Apparently there's no similar sentiment in the law enforcement arm of Mexico, with the exception of the PFP, who look like they just stepped out of Deus Ex.
It occurs to me that having a weak police force is at least as bad as having an overzealous one. I understand the dangers of having an overempowered law enforcement agency, but now I'm also very worried about what happens when they lose too much of their power.
Mexico's police force is technically a government agency, but receives fairly minimal funding. As a result, its fairly common for an individual in Mexico City or the surrounding areas to be stopped by police and cited for some violation, real or not, and made to pay in cash, on the spot, without documentation. I've talked to a few of our consultants who have spent considerable time in Mexico, and they've almost all had this type of encounter with the local police, but apparently it is accepted behavior. The people I spoke to, at least, acknowledge the police are underpaid and this is how they make ends meet.
Meanwhile, I've personally witnessed petty theft, obvious corruption, and flat-out bribery off officials in sight and hearing distance of an otherwise idle officer, with no response. When I did some research, I discovered that homocide against police officers is a real problem in Mexico, and the perpetrators often go uncaught. Say what you will about US police forces, but they go after cop killers with an unholy passion. Apparently there's no similar sentiment in the law enforcement arm of Mexico, with the exception of the PFP, who look like they just stepped out of Deus Ex.
It occurs to me that having a weak police force is at least as bad as having an overzealous one. I understand the dangers of having an overempowered law enforcement agency, but now I'm also very worried about what happens when they lose too much of their power.