The Lake Chapala Crime website is back on-line after a four month hiatus.
The citizen-based crime reporting and public information dissemination system closed down in mid-March when the long-time webmaster relocated to the U.S. for health reasons. Operations at www.lakechapalacrime.comwere resumed two weeks ago shortly after the manager returned to the area.
The website’s philosophy is stated in a general message posted on the homepage: “If you don’t report it, others will think it never happened! If you, expat or Mexican, have been a victim of a crime in the Lake Chapala area; or if you are a friend or neighbor of a victim, please let us know what happened so that we can publish the information so that others know what is occurring. This does not take the place of reporting the crime to Mexican Authorities — which we hope you will do.”
The site offers a user-friendly crime report format, as well as listings of crime incidents categorized by location, pertinent news reports, crime prevention tips and ample information on government channels related to public security and criminal justice and Mexico’s laws.
So far, new content on local crime has been practically nil other than a second-hand report of a pickpocket lifting a wallet from the purse of a Wal-Mart customer and a warning about unsubstantiated incidents of auto theft and vehicle break-ins occurring outside convenience stores located on the highway between Ixtlahuacan and the airport.
Meanwhile, Chapala public security commander Ramon del Arco has disclosed that complaints of home robberies and auto theft have declined to single figures per month over the last quarter, adding that expats residents have only been victims in a few isolated cases.