Concerned expat residents met with Chapala Mayor J. Huerta to air complaints about a recent rash of burglaries in the community.
What happened when a group of concerned expat residents met with Chapala Mayor Joaquin Huerta early this month to air complaints about a recent rash of burglaries in the community? First off, they got a receptive ear from the top man at city hall and his firm commitment that local authorities will do their best to attack the problem.
One significant thing Huerta says he learned from the encounter was that some of the victims had not bothered to report break-ins to the police department. That, he insists, is a factor that seriously hampers the cops’ ability to protect the public with appropriate preventive measures.
Police chief Ramon del Arco has more to say to anyone who thinks nothing is gained by calling police after a crime is committed. To drive the point home, he brought the Reporter into the strategy room at police headquarters for a look at the crime maps he has been tracking since taking charge of public security last October.
Layouts of each sector of the municipality are marked with colored coded push-pins indicating different type of crimes and the specific locations where they have occurred.
That information, coupled with notes on time-frames and modus operandi, guides the chief in dispatching police patrols to keep special watch on hotspots and maintain a look out for perpetrators whose criminal patterns have been identified. It has already helped police patrols avert at least three home burglaries and the theft of a semi-trailer in recent weeks because they were in the right place at the right time.Citizen alerts
A timely alert from a wary resident of Riberas del Pilar has apparently led to the capture of one band of thieves responsible for preying on the community. The good citizen flagged down a police patrol roaming the neighborhood just after he spotted several individuals scaling the wall of a nearby home. Officers sped to the scene, encountering three adult men and a teenage boy on the premises. The suspects, all giving home addresses in Zapopan were arrested for breaking and entering. Similar strikes against criminals have been reported over the past month.
In the early hours of January 10, officers on patrol in western Ajijic nabbed a three-man gang in possession of a BMW motorcycle that had been stolen minutes earlier from one nearby residence, as well as a smaller motorbike grabbed from a another location several hours earlier. The perps are now behind bars thanks to the victim call that quickly put cops on their trail.
Citizen cooperation is also credited for the December 31 capture of a purse snatcher who grabbed the bag of a foreign woman who was playing tennis in Chapala’s La Cristiania park. Hearing the victim’s cry for help, two Mexican men who were exercising nearby grabbed the thief in flight, holding him down until police arrived minutes later. He too is now in the slammer, facing formal charges on aggravated robbery.
Troubling spike
Del Arco acknowledges a troubling spike in home break-ins, with his crime map showing recent incidents concentrated in Ajijic and Chapala Haciendas. Many cases have occurred in daylight hours during brief absences of the residents. Preferred loot has included laptop computers, television sets, cameras and other electronic gear, as well as silverware, jewelry and cash.
Like the mayor, he warns householders to exercise extreme precautions, such as keeping entry points to their homes well secured at all times and keeping a keen eye out for suspicious characters who may be lurking about whenever they leave the premises. They also advise carefully screening the domestic help and service providers they hire, starting with getting identification of their full names and home addresses and even asking for personal recommendations from former employers or clients.
Police maintain an intense outlook for the “pepper-spray” bandit who has been targeting homes in Las Salvias, Villa Nova and Rancho del Oro. He is described as a well-built man, 30 to 40 years of age standing just under six feet in height, with fair skin, light brown shoulder length hair and other physical characteristics common to foreigners. He usually carries a backpack and dresses in shorts, T-shirt, tennis shoes and cap.
Authorities urge the public to promptly report tips and troubles to police headquarters. Two phone numbers now in operation 24/7 are 765-4444 and 765-4455.