Chetumal, Q. R. — The state of Quintana Roo ranks 18th in Mexico in terms of crime, reported Adán Augusto López Hernández, Secretary of the Interior of the Government of Mexico.
López Hernández commented that the state “is not so lost” in terms of security during his State Congress visit over the weekend.
“It is well below the national average. It is in 18th place in criminal incidences,” he said regarding the 32 states of Mexico. Sexual abuse, vehicle theft and family violence are the crimes that most afflict the citizens of Quintana Roo, according to data from the Secretary.
However, the most recent results of the National Urban Public Safety Survey revealed that 77.5 percent of Cancun residents and 60.5 percent of Chetumal residents still feel unsafe in their respective cities.
Governor Mara Lezama declared “more than half consider that crime will continue to be just as bad or will worsen in the next 12 months, consolidating the National Guard does not mean giving up the responsibility of rebuilding the Municipal Police ( …),” she said in reference to adding the miliary to public streets.
“On this path we are going together with the Government of Mexico,” she said during the visit to Congress. “I want to express to the legislators, with full respect, that it is important to approve this reform (…) I make this respectful call not only because of the reciprocity that we have with the federal government, but because of the responsibility we have to preserve the safety and life of the people of Quintana Roo,” she said referring to the reform change that would see Mexico’s military personnel added to public streets.
Last week, Tulum mayor Marciano Dzul Caamal said he is in support of reforming the article that would see Mexico’s army patrol public streets.