In an interview with Milenio newspaper this week, Jalisco Attorney General Luis Carlos Najera said one his biggest challenges is to convince citizens that they should file reports of crimes.
This would enable authorities to get a clear picture of the “crime map” and reduce conjecture on the extent of insecurity in the state, he said.
A way to achieve this, Najera said, is for authorities to “reach out” to citizens and make it easier for them to file complaints. This should involve more mobile units of the Ministerio Publico being dispatched to the scenes of crimes to take denuncias, rather than waiting for victims to file complaints at local offices, he said.
Najera acknowledged that it is unacceptable for victims to have to wait four or five hours to report crimes only to be told to “come back when you have the correct paperwork.”
The state police supremo belies that citizens should be allowed to make “immediate” reports of crimes with the information they have on hand, allowing for official details to be supplied later.
Najera said he is fully aware that many citizens believe filing denuncias is a waste of time. Getting results and catching criminals is the only way to change this perception, he said.
Najera said despite some reports to the contrary, Jalisco is not one of the most insecure states in Mexico, and has a mid-table ranking among the 32 entities.