Prior to delivering his first annual state-of-the-state address (informe) this week, Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro addressed how his administration has fared in the battle against crime since he took office almost one year ago.
Alfaro began by deflecting any potential criticism onto his predecessor, Aristoteles Sandoval, whose administration he claimed had reduced the numbers of crimes filed with federal authorities in order to appear in a more favorable light.
Taking into account that almost a quarter of all crimes committed in Jalisco over the previous three years were never included in official data, the governor claimed that crime in the past year actually has actually fallen by around 20 percent.
“To have a such a reduction in 12 months is for me a positive result. Is it a case for celebration? No. But we believe we are on the right track.”
Alfaro said the high number of homicides in the state is still “troubling” but noted that 70 percent are attributable to turf wars among organized crime gangs.
The governor said he expected to see positive results following the creation of a new metropolitan police force in Guadalajara that will soon operate across various municipal lines and be under one centralized chain of command.