EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – The city of Juarez, Mexico, wants to reassure visitors they will be safe during the hours or days they spend in that city across the border from El Paso, Texas.
That’s why they will be assigning 60 public servants to the newly created Tourism Police. The unit will make its presence felt in the area known as “El Centro” (Downtown) beginning next week.
“This is about training officers on how to approach people, know what is going on in tourist areas and develop trust with the public,” said Daniela Gonzalez Lara, staff coordinator for the City of Juarez. “The officers will educate (the public) about these places, government services or medical care they need. They will train to identify potential risks for residents, visitors and vulnerable groups such as women and children.”
The announcement comes as Juarez again is experiencing a spike in violence that prompted the Mexican government to send hundreds of soldiers to patrol the city, with even more on the way.
Juarez last year spent thousands of dollars refurbishing El Centro, starting from Our Lady of Guadalupe Cathedral to the pedestrian corridor along Juarez Avenue leading to the Paso del Norte port of entry in El Paso. The city also debuted a new “Ciudad Juarez” sculpture next to the Old Customs House at the opposite end of Juarez Avenue.
Police Cmdr. Jesus Moctezuma Juarez said not all officers attending training this week will be bilingual. “That may happen during a second phase of this project,” he said on Monday. But he and Gonzalez said the tourism police will be trained to approach people in target areas with tact, even in situations that involve traffic citations, disputes or misdemeanors.
As the program was being announced at a public event Monday, some in the audience questioned the officials about the lack of trust that already exists in Juarez toward the police. One said he recently came across a young man in the Market District in El Centro who told him police had robbed him of 250 pesos ($15).
Moctezuma promised there would be severe consequences for any officer abusing the rights of citizens or visitors in El Centro. But he said police commanders often never hear about abuses because people rarely file a formal complaint, so he encouraged the public not to let acts of corruption slide.
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