It's Working

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

Our new police force has really been making us proud.  I shouldn't say new, it is now in it's third year and they are keeping the streets of our state safe.   They are hard-working, well-trained and well-paid.  That was the problem all along.  Crime was never what it is today and we had police who knew how to handle petty theft, and the local marijuanero on the corner.   

 Drunks were taken off the streets and local gangs were kept under check with an occasional operation to go in and clean them out.   It worked, we didn't have much faith in them with resolving murders and that really wasn't their job, we have the  policia ministeriales who handled the detective work.

Then crime started to increase due to the transport of drugs heading north.  Bush and Fox turned their heads for six years and pretended that nothing was happening.   As you know, even in my little town that was so infamously presented on 60 Minutes, we woke up one morning sitting in a cesspool of bodies, body parts, corruption and extortion.  Everyday we would wake up wondering what would be next.  

I was scared to death, I really thought it was passing but when it hit so close to home everyone here panicked.  We stopped going out at night, clubs, bars and casinos closed as people refused to go for fears the bad guys would show up and burn the place down as did happen in one case where 52 people lost their lives (doesn't matter now but it was actually a failed attempt at extortion).  We lived in that fear and we still do to some extent.

Our new police force is changing that.   Too bad other states where things are out of control cannot follow suit.  The problem is recruiting.   Our police are high school graduates, earn $1500 dollars after taxes and receive a laundry list of benefits.  They are required to spend time in barracks every month to keep them separated from temptations of what is going on.   It's a tough road.  Are things all better?  No and they will never be the way they were before.   Breaking up these major groups and killing or arresting 28 of the 37 on the big list that our last president had, only seems to have done more damage then good.  It left ragtag bands of young people with illegally imported high powered weapons that are now being used to kidnap, rob and extort the population.  

I have to say crime is way down here in this northern state.  Car thefts were out of control and have dropped by 80%, shoot outs between police or military and the bad guys is becoming a thing of the past.  In  fact, there hasn't been one in the last 9 months that I can recall.

So we are pretty happy albeit still wary of our new police.  If they continue on their current path, we are going to be in good shape.  The problem is recruiting and it has taken us a long time to form this team.  Every month the numbers grow as they are proving that the job is safer with better training, use of technology and pay.  These guys are also encouraged monetarily and through position to obtain degrees in criminology, forensics, public safety and administration.  

Here is a training video.  If you've driven from Laredo to Saltillo you have passed the university and training grounds.   We now have 2300 officers in the state group.  I wish them the best.

Police Video Nuevo Leon