Mexico seeks to create Unified National Police Command

Hoping to instill public trust in authority and break cartel strongholds, President Felipe Calderon will soon announce an overhaul that will nationalize the nation's police as part of its war on drug trafficking, his aides said.

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The plan will place Mexico's 2,200 local police departments under a unified command and neutralize police chiefs and political officials who may be on the payrolls of drug cartels.

Police departments around the country, filled with underpaid, undertrained officers, are heavily infiltrated by criminal organizations or under the thumb of mayors, often simply escorting local officials rather than patrolling the community, according to a report by Mexico’s Senate last month.-NY TIMES

Local departments would be subject to standardized recruitment, training and equipment. State police would call the shots in conjunction with federal law enforcement.

The New York Times said Saturday that while state and federal police have not been immune from corruption, the local departments have been a primary source of protection and even manpower for trafficking organizations.

The approach has its pitfalls, though. State authorities, which would now control the local police forces in coordination with the federal police, are hardly immune to corruption themselves, and municipal officials are suspicious of surrendering autonomy. It is also unclear how dishonest officers will be weeded out of the new chain of command.-NEW YORK TIMES

The Times said Calderon, who will announce the new strategy in the coming weeks, has been running out of time and options as drug-related violence continues to rampage across Mexico. The current emphasis on using the military has resulted in criticism about alleged human-rights violations.