Mexicos Law and Order

Police

Resolution

Court

Militarization in Police Force- In Mexico, the police force is

growing into a more militarized group every year. Common
security officers in Mexico are able to change their uniforms to
display themselves as a police or military officer. Also, the
Mexican government decided to deploy a military force that
will act like police even though it has only increased crime.
Police Corruption- Police corruption is an extreme problem in
Mexico. Each month, organized crime members pay Mexican
police millions of pesos so that they can get away with crime.
Although the Mexican police are paid very little, their dignity
and pride should come before accepting money from
dangerous criminals.
President Calderon already began attempting to resolve this
problem. His strategy was to deploy thousands of soldiers and
police officers to stunt crime rates and pick out the corrupted
police. Another good strategy to prevent corruption is by
monitoring police officers more closely and to pay them more
so that they will not feel tempted to accept bribes.
Phony Trials- In the Mexican courtroom there are often trials
that are very unfair. In many instances where they can not find
the real perpetrator, an innocent man will be accused of a
crime he did not commit without even having a fair chance to
win the case and be declared innocent. In order for Mexico to
make its legal system appear better and safer they will
sometimes pull an innocent man off the street that they will use
as a scapegoat. Once in court, the judge will play along and act
like they are dealing with a real case. Fake witnesses to the
crime will even be brought in to speak out against the innocent
scapegoat. The government thinks that setting up situations
like these will send a message to the criminals warning them
that they will be prosecuted when in reality it is just filling the
prisons with innocent men and women.

Resolutions

Prisons

Dysfunctional Courtroom- Unlike in the United States, Mexicos

courtroom has no trials with the jury. What this means is that
there are no lawyers in a courtroom who verbally defend their
clients case. Instead, most of the trials are done through
paperwork not giving the defendant a proper chance to defend
him or herself.
I think that the entire judicial system should be completely
redone or at least adjusted so that the citizens of Mexico can
live a life where they do not have to fear being falsely accused
of a crime and sentenced to jail without a fair trial. First and
foremost, there should be an actual trial that involves jury that
consists of everyday citizens that are selected at random. Also,
the defendant has the right to a lawyer and cannot be convicted
until the jury all agrees that he is guilty.
Inmate control- The commission found in an annual report
that 65 of the countrys 101 most populated prisons were
under the control of convicts in 2012, a 4.3 percent increase
from 2011. (Business Insider, Agence France Presse) Since
the inmates have control of the prisons, there are serious
repercussions. In the year 2012, there were 261 prisoners that
had escaped from prison and 154 prisoners murdered.
Over Populated- Another problem that Mexico is facing is the
lack of space in their penitentiaries. Since there is so much
crime in Mexico, it is hard to find the space available for all the
criminals. Throughout Mexico, a whopping 80 percent of
prisons are overcrowded or are holding a lot more prisoners
than their maximum capacity. In the 80 percent of the prisons
that are overcrowded, the average amount of excess prisoners
is around 45,000 extra prisoners per penitentiary.

Extreme Violence and Abuse- Mexico has some of the most

violent prisons in the entire world. A big reason why this is
such a huge problem is because of the overcrowding that takes
place in the penitentiaries. As the amount of prisoners
increases and then eventually overfills there are many
problems that start forming. As more prisoners enter the
prison, it becomes harder for the security and jail guards to
control and maintain the prisons. As soon as the prison gets
slightly out of control the prisoners begin to take control and
form gangs. Between 2010 and 2013 there were 568 murders
inside of Mexican prisons, which displays how out of control
the situation is there.

Resolution

If the problems were stopped at the root then there would be a lot
less problems in prisons. Crime prevention methods should be used
so that crime will happen less frequently which therefore leads to a
significantly smaller amount of prisoners. Another way to resolve
this problem is to hire more prison security so that the government
holds power over the prisons instead of the inmates. Finally, larger
or more prisons and penitentiaries should be built so that there
could be a more maintainable amount of inmates in each prison.
Gangs- The cartel is mostly made up with huge groups that control

The Cartel
Drug Trade

different areas in Mexico. The beginning of the Mexican drug cartel

dates back to 1980 by a man nicknamed the Godfather. Originally
the drugs were smuggled through the U.S. border using different
trafficking patterns. Soon Mexicos cartel linked with the Columbian
cartel expanding the organization. Throughout the years the
Mexican Cartel has significantly expanded and even branched off.

into different groups. The Mexican cartel is huge and is a growing

problem not just for Mexico but also for many of their surrounding
countries. From 2006 to 2012 there have been about 60,000
murderers that were caused by the cartel.
Drugs- Today, Mexico has one of the worlds largest drug networks.
For decades, Mexicos cartels have grown larger and larger while
becoming more advanced. Also, Mexico holds an ideal spot because
of how easily the Mexican Police can be corrupted. Mexican cartels
hold most of the responsibility for heroin in the United States and
meth and marijuana throughout the rest of the world. Finally,
Mexico takes up about 3 to 4 percent of the countrys annual GDP
totaling at around 30 billion a year.

Resolution

Since this problem is extremely widespread it would be very difficult

to completely stop it but there are ways it could be decreased and
weakened. Like many of Mexicos serious government problems,
they all start at the base of the governments malfunctions. In this
case, the cartels thrive in Mexico because of police corruption. Also,
the Mexican military should begin to raid the cartels warehouses
and even weaken the cartels substantially by capturing key leaders
in the organizations. Finally, the United States could help
themselves while helping Mexico by having a stricter border. If the
drug smugglers are stopped at the border, they will lose business
and will collapse without the United States consuming their drugs.

The Cartels
War

Extreme Violence- As new cartels begin to form in Mexico, the war

for land grows significantly. Rivalries begin to form causing extreme
chaos and violence between the rival gangs. However, vicious crime
does not only take place between gangs. There have been almost 40
cases where a Mexican Mayor is assassinated because of the cartels
distaste in he or she. Also, other high-ranking government leaders

have been murdered along with innocent civilians. Besides for

drugs, the cartel takes part in kidnapping and placing money on
innocent civilians. In recent years, the government has announced
that there are still more than 26,000 disappeared men, women,
and children.
The War- Since the president of Mexico launched the war against the
cartel there have been 85,000 people killed. Since 2006, the major
crackdown on drugs has not been that successful and in some ways
has only backfired. Although a record amount of drugs has been
seized and many drug lords have been captured, the death toll pays
a price. The governments troops used extremely brutal methods
causing bloodshed throughout the streets of Mexico. As the amount
of drugs sold by the cartel decreased they had to rely on other
methods of gaining money. This caused the spike in kidnappings,
murders, and other dirty inside jobs.

Resolution

So far, the war against the cartels has been overall unsuccessful.
Mexico and their government has to rethink a new strategy that is
less aggressive and more strategic. Also, it is essential that the
corrupted cops whom are working with the cartels are rooted out
and punished for their disloyalty.