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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | June 2007 
New Effort in Mexico is Targeting Cop Bribery
 Anna Cearley - San Diego Union-Tribune
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One November evening, California retiree Frank P. Smith and his wife were backing out of a parking spot near one of Puerto Nuevo's many lobster restaurants when a police officer stopped them.
Smith was being cited, he recalled, for several violations, including improper parking and an out-of-sight license plate. He suspected the charges, which the officer indicated would add up to a fine of $320, were trumped up.But the officer threatened to tow his car and camper, and refused to let Smith speak to his commander.
So Smith did what he figured was expected – though it wasn't solicited outright. He gave the officer $60 in cash.
Like many other tourists put on the spot, Smith never reported the incident south of Rosarito Beach. Instead, the travelers continued home to Morro Bay.
“I know it happens to others and they don't go back, and it's a shame,” said Smith, who said he's been traveling in Mexico for 20 years and will continue doing so despite the bad experience.
The police bribe – known as the mordida, or bite – remains a troubling problem throughout Mexico. It is difficult to address or document because few people pursue complaints against officers.
Nonetheless, new efforts are under way to protect tourists. Earlier this year, coastal condo developers successfully got the city of Tijuana to declare a road frequently used by tourists as a “no-ticket” zone. The road connects the Mexican port of entry near San Ysidro to the tollbooth at Playas de Tijuana.
“We had cancellations from people who were stopped by cops,” said Gabriel Robles, president of the Resort Developers Association of Baja California, who attributed $3 million to $5 million in lost sales to the problem.
A state public safety advisory group also has announced it will train volunteers in each of the state's main cities to watch for officers stopping visitors. The credential-carrying volunteers will inform the tourists of their rights.
The program is being supported by tourism and police department officials, and the idea is that corrupt cops won't try to shake down a driver with a third party observing. It's not meant to be confrontational, and officials don't anticipate it will put the volunteers in harm's way.
César Rivera, president of the Rosarito Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the actions will have an impact on some police officers' off-the-book earnings, “because someone who stops 10 cars can make $500 in a day.” But he said the region's overall economic development is at stake.
The problem affects more than tourists, although they are considered easy prey because they often don't speak the language, aren't willing to argue with an officer, and usually don't stay around long enough to pursue a complaint.
Some Mexican experts see the extortion problem as symptomatic of Mexico's authoritarian past and unequal distribution of wealth, which created weak institutions and a tradition of corruption that challenges the country's evolution into a true democracy.
A 2005 survey conducted by Transparencia Mexicana, a group dedicated to combating corruption in the country, found that half of Mexican residents said they had paid a bribe to avoid being ticketed or detained by an officer.
Mexican authorities admit there is a problem, and they say it can go both ways. Sometimes people break rules knowingly and offer money to officers to avoid tickets or jail. Offering a bribe to an officer is a crime in Mexico, punishable by two to five years in prison.
No shortage of complaints
While no one can say how often officers solicit bribes from tourists, allegations of Mexican police misconduct account for about 26 percent of complaints filed through a little-known program in which San Diego police take courtesy reports of crimes in Mexico.
The percentage is derived from a review of a sampling of reports filed with the San Diego Police Department over three months last year. The San Diego Union-Tribune obtained 19 reports through a public records request. Attempts to obtain all of the 200 or so complaints filed in the seven-year-old cross-border program were rejected. The reports provided were heavily redacted, with victims' names and addresses removed.
The alleged incidents involving Mexican police took place in Tijuana, and they described police robberies, such as being forced to take money from an ATM. Tijuana authorities said they don't track extortion statistics comprehensively.
The police department's anti-corruption division said it received 330 complaints against officers from January through May. Guadalupe Olga Jiménez, who heads the department, said 30 percent to 40 percent of the complaintsalleged assaults, physical abuse or extortion.
Eduardo Bohorquez, director of Transparencia Mexicana, said the common shakedown is “a clear symptom of the level of institutional development of a government,” one that he believes Mexico must address.
But not all cases are clear-cut, he said.
“There are extremes where extortion is very, very clearly taking advantage of someone's ignorance,” he said. “Other times, people are willing to pay to get rid of the situation, but normally there's a gray area.”
Speed trap
Tourists are at a disadvantage because they don't usually have the information or knowledge of traffic laws or their rights, Bohorquez said.
Some savvy visitors say that asking to be taken to the nearest municipal judge seems to dissuade some officers from pushing the matter. Another strategy is to sit tight and not offer money.
Arturo Isla, 32, said he has been stopped by police about eight times in his life while driving in Mexico. Each time, police let him go after extensive questioning, he said, without asking for money and without a ticket.
“I guess it was too much trouble for them,” said Isla, a Chula Vista resident who speaks Spanish.
His luck ran out Feb. 3 when he said a motorcycle cop threatened to tow his 2007 yellow Mustang – and allegedly demanded a payment of $80 for speeding.
Isla gave the money to the municipal police officer, but immediately reported the incident to a federal official at the nearest toll booth. Isla said the official contacted the nearest municipal police commander and had him conduct a police lineup of his officers for Isla. Isla didn't recognize the cop, but the other officers gave him $80 out of their own pockets.
A month later, Isla filed a report with Tijuana's internal affairs unit, known as Sindicatura, which is the city's clearinghouse to deal with complaints against any city worker or official.
The agency has the power to fire or file charges against an officer, but such actions are typically reserved for the more serious extortion cases, such as if an officer forces a tourist or resident to take out bribe money from an ATM.
Less serious incidents are channeled to the police department's anti-corruption group, which decides whether the officer gets a verbal upbraiding, a write-up that ends up in his or her file, temporary arrest, reassignment or suspension.
Many tourists fail to file a report, thinking it won't be worth the effort. Isla said in his case he was told the officer would be suspended a month without pay.
Such cases are highlighted by Baja California officials when asked what they are doing to prevent shakedowns
“I don't want to say they don't do it, but they do it far less,” said José María Lozano Rodríguez, who oversees the Sindicatura office.
While low wages have traditionally been blamed for officers resorting to extortion, the practice of district chiefs demanding weekly payoffs from their officers fueled the problem.
'No-ticket' zone
Jiménez, director of the anti-corruption unit, said she isn't aware of that practice continuing, and that the current city administration has increased wages. By the end of this year, the average starting rate for an officer will be about $1,500 per month compared with $750 three years ago, she said.
Jiménez said her office regularly sends staff members out to make sure officers aren't lurking around the road designated as a “no-ticket” zone. The city is also equipping traffic officers with hand-held machines for people to pay fines on the spot using their credit or debit cards. Touted as part of an anti-corruption effort, the concept is meant to deter demands for cash bribes.
About 25 million people, including repeat visitors, went to Baja California last year, according to statistics compiled by the Baja California Secretaria de Turismo that factor in hotel vacancies and polls at the border.
Authorities say they are aware that bad experiences can dissuade people from returning to Mexico. John Devlin, 51, of Florida said two officers in the Tijuana area solicited money from him in two separate incidents just minutes apart during a trip in November.
“I thought, whatever they want, I'm going to have to make them happy because they are in control and I am not,” Devlin said. “I just wanted them to go away.”
He said both cops, who spoke little English, showed him a small laminated chart, pointed at the “speeding” column and a corresponding fine. He ended up paying about $300. He said he hasn't been back since.
Smith, who has returned to Mexico, said he felt forced to give money – even though the officer was careful not to make the first move. Smith said he tried to hold his ground, offering to make sure the license plate was in view. He pointed out there was no sign indicating he couldn't park there.
Then he considered his expensive camper, the threats to have it towed and the refusal by the armed official to let him speak to a supervisor. He told the officer he was willing to pay a portion of the fine. The exchange was made in a nearby darkened street, and afterward the officer shook his hand.
Anna Cearley: (619) 542-4595; anna.cearley@uniontrib.com |
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