Cancun, Q.R. — Several Cancun police officers are under investigation for refusing to wear lapel cameras. Mayor Ana Paty Peralta says the body cameras are mandatory and are part of the uniform. She says the municipal police officers are being investigated for violating protocols in their failure to wear the cameras.
“Various processes are being carried out for failure to wear the camera at certain times,” the mayor explained. Peralta said that internal regulations mandate the use of video cameras during officers’ shifts.
“As I said from the beginning, police officers who do not wear a camera will be disciplined. They may even be removed from their duties if they commit this violation again. All police officers must wear a camera,” she emphasized.
The mayor explained that the protocol is “very strict” and that there are exceptions only for specific cases such as going to the bathroom, in which case the device must be immediately replaced.
“It’s mandatory. It’s included in the regulation amendments,” she commented. Mayor Peralta reported “we have detected three cases of police officers who were not wearing cameras.”
Peralta says the cameras have been useful for internal investigations, noting that three officers have already been disciplined and another seven are under investigation for violating protocol.
Last month, Governor Mara Lezama and Cancun Mayor Ana Paty Peralta delivered 725 body cameras to the Municipal Secretariat of Citizen Security and Transit of Benito Juárez (SMSCyT) to strengthen security and make police operations more transparent at a cost of 31 million pesos.
