Taking guns away from police brings some peace to Tijuana

[StrictlyRockers]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-tijuana6jan06,0,6801191.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Taking guns away from police brings some peace to Tijuana
Tijuana police return -- without their weapons
By Richard Marosi, Sam Enriquez and Héctor Tobar, Times Staff Writers
January 6, 2007

TIJUANA — Disarmed municipal police officers patrolled alongside armed state police Friday, a sight that brought some comfort to many in this border city where municipal police often are equated with corruption and drug-related violence.

Municipal officers, their holsters empty, directed traffic and made the rounds a day after stopping work in response to being stripped of their weapons by the Mexican military.

The military operation in Tijuana and a similar incursion in the southern state of Michoacan, some political analysts say, have been a political boon to President Felipe Calderon, who took office in December, allowing him to project an image of strength and decisiveness.

Jorge Chabat, a Mexico City analyst who has written extensively on the country's drug wars, said that though Calderon's crackdown in Tijuana had "zero chance of stopping the buying and selling of drugs," it could help limit the number of drug-related killings in the city.

There were more than 300 slayings in Tijuana last year.

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Ok, you know things are bad, you know corruption is rampant when the only way to reduce violence is to confiscate the police force's weapons.

SR

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003511986_tj06.html

[High Plains]

1. The Mexican front in our war on drugs (we love to consume)

This is all drug prohibition-related violence and corruption. End the drug war and this goes away. Legalize it all now.

[LostinVA]

2. Exactly -- and many police officers and officials agree with us n/t

[phusion]

3. You got it...

Seems like a rational and simple solution, doesn't it?

[piedmont]

4. Interesting choice of box to put those guns in!! nt

[Robbien]

5. Not just the box, look at the guns

The article talks about empty holsters. I see some nasty looking rifles in that toy box.

[Name removed]

6. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bemildred]

7. Asking police to stop crime is like asking the army to stop war.

It's not in their interest to do that. The drug war is an employment act for cops.

[Javaman]

8. I prefer to call the war on drugs a cottage industry. ;) nt