Solution?
Obviously, there is no one clean and easy solution to the problem of corruption of Mexican police officers. Current attempts at reform and change are not efficient, because they fail to look at the sources of the problem. Proposed solutions have included firing officials known to be corrupt, and large-scale firing of officers, in order to bring in a new, and hopefully less corrupt force. The required training to become a police officer has become more in depth and rigorous.
There are many changes that need to be made to the Mexican police force, and even these won't serve to eliminate the problem of corruption. The first change needs to be higher education and training. The needs of police officers must be filled by having a respectable salary and to be respected by the people which they are supposed to protect in the community.
Changes to the police force will take a lot of time in order for their effects to become visible. As such, changes must begin as soon as possible.
Attitudes towards police
Most Mexicans have the attitude that they can buy their way out of situations with the police, provided that they have enough money. The practice of morditas results in a lack of respect for the authority of the police. The rich have little to fear when in a situation with the police, and it is common for them to have certain 'agreements' with police officers to overlook certain situations. The lack of respect for authorities only serves to bring down the esteem of police officers and exacerbates the problem.
So, why?
Why is the practice of morditas so common in Mexico?
At first glance, it would seem that the police take morditas simply because they can. Because they want to make some extra money. Once you take a deeper look, it becomes apparent that it is done out of necessity.
The average education of a Mexican is equivalent to a fourth grade education. Police officers undergo very little training, and the majority do not even have a high school degree. Lack of education is definately a factor.
The other thing to consider is salary. A Mexican police officer is usually paid the equivalent to about 5$ Canadian per day. This salary can not sustain the large families that most Mexicans have. Morditas are usually done out of necessity to get money to support their families. One must also consider the dangers that the police officers face on a daily basis.
Another important issue is the fact that corruption exists in Mexico on many levels. Every year there are new political scandals and allegations of corruption. Some degree of corruption exists in practically every business. It serves to speed up bureaucratic processes or to get special priviledges. With corruption being a part of everyday life, the police officers feel less guilt when turning to corruption themselves.
Once the factors are considered, morditas seem much more reasonable.
Morditas
When I was for Christmas and talking to people about living in Mexico, one of the most popular questions that I got was ´Do you feel safe?´. To be honest, I do feel perfectly safe where I live. I can walk down the street in the middle of the night and I don´t need to be with a group of people in order to feel safe. The only time that I feel less safe is when I am pulled over by the police.
The first few times I was pulled over by the police, I tried to talk to them and be friendly, thinking that this would let me off. However, I was soon told by my Mexican friends that I should pretend that I don´t speak Spanish, as the police officers here are intimidated by English-speakers and most don´t speak English themselves, so they are unable to communicate with you.
Here, the police don´t need a reason to pull you over. When they pull you over, they´re just digging to find any possible infraction. First, you´re taken out of the car while the officers shine a flashlight into the car, go under the seats and search the trunk. They´re looking for anything, ranging from drugs to alcohol. If all is well there, they check your driver´s license for possible problems. If you´re still good, they´ll check the papers for the car.
If there is any infraction, or if they don´t like your attitude, they´ll threaten to put you in jail or give you a very expensive ticket. Then they tell you that for a little bit of money, they can make this problem go away. This is referred to as a 'mordita', translated into English as ´a little bite´, commonly known in English as a bribe.
The mordidt is a welcome option because it is so much cheaper than the price of the ticket. Having a burned out light on your cost might cost you 50 pesos (around 5$ Canadian). An expired license will probably cost you around 200 pesos (around 20$ Canadian). If they find alcohol in your car, you´re expected to share.
Introduction to the project
As an international student living in Guadalajara, it is impossible to avoid dealing with the police. Before I came here, I had heard all of the horror stories. Paying huge bribes to the police, being pulled over for no reason, police planting drugs in your car, police brutality, etc. The students who had come to Guadalajara before all had their tales to tell.
To me it seemed a little exaggerated and just a bit far-fetched. I work with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Canada, and am used to seeing honest and fair police work. The police corruption that was recently exposed in the Toronto Police Department was dealt with effectively and involved very few officers. The scandal proved the fact that corruption is not acceptable in police forces in Canada and will be punished.
The contrast between the police forces in Mexico and in Canada hit me after I’d been in Guadalajara for a very short time. There are the obvious differences, such as corruption, but there were also differences that I didn’t expect. As a result of corruption, the public has a very different attitude towards police officers and all figures of authority. I also learned the differences in education of the officers between countries. Perhaps the most surprising to me was the difference in wages.
With this blog, I’ll explore the variations that exist across the Canadian and Mexican cultures relating to the police force. As a final post at the end of the project, I will attempt to develop possible solutions for the problem that exists in Guadalajara. New postings will happen throughout the semester. I encourage you to leave comments and I would enjoy feedback.
Things for which international students have been stopped by the Mexican police for:
- Stuffing 10 people in a car
- Driving 100 km/h over the speed limit
- Peeing in the street
- Drinking alcohol in the street
- Indecent exposure
- Driving the wrong way down a one-way street
- Drug possession
- Just being blond
