Lack of equipment, few police officers affecting Jocotepec police force. An agreement with the state will authorize joint policing by Joctepec and State officers until more funding is available.
Jocotepec police building located in the municipal capital. Photo: Archive.
Staff.- The killing of two unarmed policemen and the wounding of first responders March 10 on the Guadalajara-Morelia highway height of San Cristóbal, highlighted the fact that the Jocotepec Public Security Corporation, charged with ensuring the welfare of the town and its 13 localities, is operating without necessary equipment or sufficient personnel , and spurred an agreement for joint operations with State Police in the municipality.
The joint operations are designed to insure the safety of the citizens and the officers until the governor and the president obtain additional funding for weapons, equipment and more policemen and policewomen in the municipality.
A former municipal police officer, who preferred to keep his name anonymous for fear of reprisals, said that the police station does not have enough weapons, personnel, or the support of the municipality to carry out its work.
The interviewee described the conditions under which the uniformed officers operate as “precarious,” due to the fact that they lack social security despite the fact that their work serving the community is considered high risk.
«In reality, there are no bullets, only the ones they carry or that they purchase; but the truth is that there are no weapons. In a violent confrontation they would not last five minutes,» said the former police officer.
Although Semanario Laguna sought to confirm the information provided by the former policeman,representatives of the municipality of Jocotepec were not available to answer or comment on the matter.
Resignation of personnel is also a constant problem in the force. In December of last year alone, according to Felipe Aguilar Montes de Oca, former director of social communication, the municipality had only 44 officers distributed in two shifts.
During the March 17 ordinary session of the Jocotepec City Council, municipal president José Miguel Gómez López stated that after the March 10 armed attack that left two policemen murdered, six policemen, as well as commissioner Juan Jesús Hermosillo Moreno, had resigned.
«After the death of the two officers, six more officers resigned from the force. The officers feel unprotected by the lack of equipment, by the lack of protection; situations that are not a direct responsibility of the administration but how resources have been lacking for us to make investments in security,» Gómez López said.
Gómez López explained that because the municipality is officially classified as having a population of less than 50,000 inhabitants, it has not been able to access substantial resources to strengthen the municipal police, although he did point out that they already have life insurance. At its last meeting, the council voted to award the families of the slain officers 100% of their pensions to demonstrate their support for the police and to recognize their bravery.
Translated by MaryAnne Marble and Patrick O’Heffernan
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