“Organized crime is like cancer: you have to take preventive measures before it appears, because once it is present, it is very difficult to fight, and you’re at risk of dying”, this was the metaphor used by the State Secretary of Public Security, Commander Luis Felipe Saidén Ojeda.
“Yucatan needs not only to maintain its high levels of security but also to improve them even more, because criminals modernize their “modus operandi” every day”, Saidén Ojeda continued.
In the presence of the state governor Mauricio Vila Dosal and the Secretary of Government, Maria Fritz Sierra, along with other government officials, the head of the new project to improve security in the state, “Yucatan Seguro” was officially presented, for which the Executive requested the local Congress to contract a 2.5 billion pesos financing.
Fritz Sierra agreed that security, “gives a sense of confidence,” so it must be maintained, and reinforced.
Security attracts investment, which in turn creates more jobs, and provides a better quality of life for the people of Yucatán. Security also attracts tourism, which leaves an important economic spill. The safe environment makes that young people from other parts of the country come to study in Meridas higher education intitutions, rather than staying in their own state.
When talking about what the state government has done to improve the working conditions of the law enforcement coporations, Fritz Sierra stated that there is a program to grant scholarships to police officer’s children, not only in public schools, but in private too. The scholarships are for 100% of tuition and there is also a support of $2,600 pesos per month for transportation.
The official stressed that the private universities that participate in this plan said they will expand or double their quota for scholars.
Saidén Ojeda highlighted that officers are proud to beling to the Public Security Secretariat police force, which currently features 5,400 agents.
“88% of our police offiicers are Yucatecan and those who are not, are married with Yucatecans and have been living in the state for more than 15 years,” declared Saidén Ojeda.
In contrast, Commander Saidén said that in Quintana Roo 95% of the police officers on duty are from other parts of the country. And he added: “That is why it is so important for us to have Yucatecans in the force, because if we do not work for our own security, nobody is going to come from abroad to do it”.
Technology
Luis Felipe Saidén Ojeda stated that in the corporation they work with state-of-the-art technology, and they are intending to keep up to date in this regard, to continue giving excellent results.
“Out of every ten criminal cases that we detect, seven are solved with the help of the surveillance cameras, because our team features analysts, specialized staff, such as video surveillance forensics, who deal with robberies, homicides and other high-impact crimes,” explained the Chief of the State Police.
“However, we are not exempt from having a security problem and we must be well prepared for that”, the State Secretary of Public Security concluded.
The Yucatan Times Newsroom
