Female police aim to change Mexico’s culture of corruption

World Today

Police corruption is a global concern, but it’s proved particularly troublesome in Mexico.

Despite attempts to fight the problem, the country has had a long period of widespread misconduct.

Now a local police agency in Central Mexico is trying to change that. CGTN’s Franc Contreras reports.

Female transit police: they’re at the forefront of a public relations effort that aims to combat police corruption in Mexico.

There is one example of how corruption plays out: A Mexican traffic officer pulls over a driver because of a traffic violation. The driver negotiates, and then pays off the police with a bribe. It’s known here as “la mordida” – or the “little bite” taken out of your wallet.

The female officers are preparing go out on the streets of Toluca. They said one of their key jobs is to help citizens and provide safety but never, under any conditions, accept bribes.

Each of these female traffic police gets no more than $450 a month. They pull over a Toluca driver for a safety violation: a tinted windshield. With our camera watching, the driver follows the rules and never offers to bribe her.

Measuring police corruption is a difficult proposition. We did speak to some citizens in Toluca who believes the program underway perhaps is not working as the government had planned.