NCJ Number
217106
Journal
Crime & Justice International Volume: 22 Issue: 95 Dated: November/December 2006 Pages: 4-9
Date Published
November 2006
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article examines some aspects of private security enterprises in Mexico.
Abstract
High crime rates and unreliable police and justice institutions in Mexico have spurred the creation of Mexican private security businesses of various types, as well as the migration of foreign security branches from the larger security firms in the United States and other countries. Between 1998 and 1999, for example, private security companies reportedly increased by approximately 40 percent in Mexico, at the beginning of the 21st century, Mexico had some 10,000 poorly monitored private security firms. Only 20 percent of these were registered with the government. The competence and integrity of such businesses has been questionable, even among those that are registered. Kidnapping, robbery, extortion, and coercion on behalf of various criminal, economic, and political interests have been linked with private security organizations. The monitoring of private security groups was a concern of Mexico's Vicente Fox administration. The Federal responsibility for such monitoring was given to the Secretariat of Public Security (SSP), which has authority over private security firms that operate in two or more Federal States. The SSP has the authority to sanction, suspend, or shut down security businesses that violate regulations or break the law. Private security firms that fail to comply with laws and regulations are posted on the SSP Web site, and they are sometimes shut down and their assets seized. This procedure is followed when unregistered security businesses are identified. Still, the large number of private security enterprises subject to Federal monitoring far exceeds the resources and oversight capacity of the SSP. The Calderon administration, which has succeeded the Fox administration, continues to be faced with failed law enforcement and justice reforms, which is the spawning ground for the proliferation of private security organizations. 22 notes