Hostname: page-component-599cfd5f84-56l7z Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-07T06:59:43.281Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Corruption or Insecurity? Understanding Dissatisfaction with Mexico’s Police

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Daniel M. Sabet
Daniel M. Sabet*
Affiliation:
School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Since at least 2005, Mexico has confronted a severe security crisis that threatens to undermine its rule of law and democracy. An effective police response has been hindered by frustrated citizens who do not report crime, come forward with information, serve as witnesses, or support their police. This foments a vicious cycle whereby insecurity and corruption foster dissatisfaction, which yields further insecurity and corruption. Breaking this cycle requires a better understanding of why citizens are dissatisfied with their police. One view holds that discontent is due to police corruption, but a somewhat rival perspective contends that citizens are primarily concerned with security outcomes. This study uses comparative survey data from 14 major Mexican cities to test these potentially rival approaches. It finds that both corruption and security outcomes matter, but direct experience with bribery has the single largest impact on dissatisfaction with the police.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Politics and Society , Volume 55 , Issue 1 , Spring 2013 , pp. 22 - 45
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 2013

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

AmericasBarometer. Nashville : Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP). http://www.LapopSurveys.org.Google Scholar
Anderson, Christopher J., and Guillory, Christine A.. 1997. Political Institutions and Satisfaction with Democracy: a Cross-National Analysis of Consensual and Majoritarian Systems. American Political Science Review 91, 1: 66–81.Google Scholar
Anderson, Christopher J., and Tverdova, Yuliaya V.. 2003. Corruption, Political Allegiances, and Attitudes toward Government in Contemporary Democracies. American Journal of Political Science 7, 1: 91–109.Google Scholar
Arellano Gault, David, and Amparán, Juan Pablo Guerrero. 2003. Stalled Administrative Reforms of the Mexican State. In Reinventing Leviathan: The Politics of Administrative Reform in Developing Countries, ed. Schneider, Ben Ross and Heredia, Blanca. Boulder : Lynne Rienner. 151–80.Google Scholar
Arteaga Botello, Nelson, and Rivera, Adrián López. 1998. Policía y corrupción: el caso de un municipio en México. Mexico City : Plaza y Valdés.Google Scholar
Astorga, Luis. 2005. El Siglo de las drogas: el narcotráfico, del Porfiriato al nuevo milenio. Mexico City : Plaza y Jánes.Google Scholar
Azaola Garrido, Elena, and Torres, Miguel Angel Ruiz. 2009. Investigadores de papel: poder y derechos humanos entre la Policía Judicial de la Ciudad de México. Mexico City : Fontamara.Google Scholar
Bailey, John, and Paras [Parás], Pablo. 2006. Perceptions and Attitudes about Corruption and Democracy in Mexico. Mexican Studies/Estudios Mexicanos 22, 1: 57–81.Google Scholar
Baker, Mary Holland, Nienstedt, Barbara C., Everett, Ronald S., and McCleary, Richard. 1983. The Impact of a Crime Wave: Perceptions, Fear, and Confidence in the Police. Law and Society Review 17, 2: 319–36.Google Scholar
Bardhan, Pranab. 1997. Corruption and Development: a Review of Issues. Journal of Economic Literature 35, 3: 1320–46.Google Scholar
Bieck, William, and Oettmeier, Tim. 1998. The Houston Police Department: Integrating Investigative Operations Through Neighborhood Oriented Policing. Washington, DC : Police Executive Research Forum.Google Scholar
Ceobanu, Alin M., Wood, Charles H., and Ribeiro, Ludmila. 2010. Crime Victimization and Public Support for Democracy: Evidence from Latin America. International Journal of Public Opinion Research 23, 1: 56–78.Google Scholar
Chaiken, Jan M., Greenwood, Peter W., and Petersilia, Joan. 1977. The Criminal Investigation Process: a Summary Report. Policy Analysis 3: 187–217.Google Scholar
Chang, Eric C. C., and Chu, Yun-han. 2006. Corruption and Trust: Exceptionalism in Asian Democracies. Journal of Politics 68, 2: 259–71.Google Scholar
Cook, Timothy E., and Gronke, Paul. 2005. The Skeptical American: Revisiting the Meanings of Trust in Government and Confidence in Institutions. The Journal of Politics 67, 3: 784–803.Google Scholar
Cosgrove, Colleen, and Wycoff, Mary Ann. 1997. Investigations in the Community Context. Washington, DC : Police Executive Research Forum.Google Scholar
Correia, Mark, Reisig, Michael, and Lovrich, Nicholas. 1996. Public Perceptions of State Police: an Analysis of Individual-Level and Contextual Variables. Journal of Criminal Justice 24: 17–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dammert, Lucía. 2005. Violencia criminal y seguridad ciudadana en Chile. CEPAL-SERIE Políticas Sociales. Santiago de Chile : United Nations.Google Scholar
Davis, Diane E. 2008. Undermining the Rule of Law: Democratization and the Dark Side of Police Reform in Mexico. Latin American Politics and Society 48, 1 (Spring): 55–86.Google Scholar
Davis, Gina, and Ostrom, Elinor. 1991. A Public Economy Approach to Education: Choice and Coproduction. International Political Science Review 12, 4: 313–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dean, Deby. 1980. Citizen Ratings of the Police: the Difference Contact Makes. Law and Policy Quarterly 2: 445–71.Google Scholar
Fogelson, Robert M. 1977. The Big-City Police. Cambridge : Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Frühling, Hugo, and Tulchin, Joseph S., eds. 2003. Crime and Violence in Latin America: Citizen Security, Democracy, and the State. Washington, DC : Woodrow Wilson Center Press.Google Scholar
Hinds, Lyn. 2009. Public Satisfaction with Police: the Influence of General Attitudes and Police-Citizen Encounters. International Journal of Police Science and Management 11, 1: 54–66.Google Scholar
Huntington, Samuel. 1968. Political Order in Changing Societies. New Haven : Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Instituto Ciudadano de Estudios Sobre la Inseguridad (ICESI). 2010. Análisis de la ENSI-6/2009: victimización, incidencia y cifra negra en México. Mexico City : ICESI.Google Scholar
Kutnjak Ivkovic, Sanja. 2005. Fallen Blue Knights: Controlling Police Corruption. New York : Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Leff, Nathaniel. 1964. Economic Development through Bureaucratic Corruption. American Behavioral Scientist 8, 3: 8–14.Google Scholar
Manzetti, Luigi, and Wilson, Carole J.. 2009. Why Do Corrupt Governments Maintain Public Support? In Corruption and Democracy in Latin America, ed. Blake, Charles H. and Morris, Stephen D.. Pittsburgh : University of Pittsburgh Press. 77–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mendoza, Antia, and Salgado, Juan. 2009. Una visión del futuro … hacia la seguridad ciudadana: la policía municipal de Chihuahua. Mexico City : Instituto para la Seguridad y la Democracia A.C.Google Scholar
Morris, Stephen D. 1991. Corruption and Politics in Contemporary Mexico. Tuscaloosa : University of Alabama Press.Google Scholar
Morris, Stephen D., and Klesner, Joseph L.. 2010. Corruption and Trust: Theoretical Considerations and Evidence from Mexico. Comparative Political Studies 43, 10: 1258–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Naval, Claire. 2006. Irregularities, Abuses of Power, and Ill-Treatment in the Federal District: The Relation Between Police Officers and Ministerio Público Agents, and the Population. Mexico City : Fundar, Centro de Análisis e Investigación A.C.Google Scholar
Ostrom, Elinor. 1996. Crossing the Great Divide: Coproduction, Synergy, and Development. World Development 24, 6: 1073–87.Google Scholar
Parás, Pablo, and Coleman, Ken. 2006. The Political Culture of Democracy in Mexico: 2006. Nashville : AmericasBarometer.Google Scholar
Percy, Stephen. 1981. Citizen Participation in the Coproduction of Urban Services. Urban Affairs Quarterly 19, 4: 431–46.Google Scholar
Price, Vincent, and Romantan, Anca. 2004. Indecision 2000. Journal of Politics 66, 3: 939–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Puddington, Arch. 2011. Freedom in the World 2011: The Authoritarian Challenge to Democracy. Washington, DC : Freedom House.Google Scholar
Reisig, Michael D., and Parks, Roger. 2002. Satisfaction with Police: What Matters? Washington, DC : National Institute of Justice.Google Scholar
Ruiz Harrell, Rafael. 2007. Estadísticas oficiales vs. percepción ciudadana de la inseguridad: el subregistro delictivo. Salud Pública de México vol. 49: 143.Google Scholar
Sabet, Daniel M. 2009. Two Steps Forward: Lessons from Chihuahua. In Police and Public Security in Mexico, ed. Donnelly, Robert A. and Shirk, David A.. San Diego : University Readers. 169–96.Google Scholar
Sabet, Daniel M. 2010. Confrontation, Collusion, and Tolerance: the Relationship between Organized Crime and Law Enforcement in Tijuana. Mexican Law Review 2, 2: 3–29.Google Scholar
Sabet, Daniel M. 2012. Police Reform in Mexico: Informal Politics and the Challenge of Institutional Change. Stanford : Stanford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sampson, Robert J., and Bartusch, Dawn Jeglum. 1998. Legal Cynicism and (Subcultural?) Tolerance of Deviance: the Neighborhood Context of Racial Differences. Law and Society Review 32, 4: 777–804.Google Scholar
Savas, Emanuel S. 1977. The Organization and Efficiency of Solid Waste Collection. Lexington : D.C. Heath.Google Scholar
Seligson, Mitchell A. 2002. The Impact of Corruption on Regime Legitimacy: a Comparative Study of Four Latin American Countries. Journal of Politics 64, 2: 408–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sunshine, Jason, and Tyler, Tom R.. 2003. The Role of Procedural Justice and Legitimacy in Shaping Public Support for Policing. Law and Society Review 37, 3: 513–47.Google Scholar
Silva Forné, Carlos. 2009. Policía y encuentros con la ciudadanía en Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl. Doctoral diss., El Colegio de México.Google Scholar
de Garay, Suárez, Eugenia, María. 2009. Los policías: una averiguación antropológica. Mexico City : Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente.Google Scholar
Tudela, Patricio, and López, Beatriz. 2006. Informe: políticas públicas de seguridad ciudadana, Argentina. Santiago de Chile : Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo.Google Scholar
Tyler, Tom R. 1990. Why People Obey the Law. New Haven : Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Tyler, Tom R. 2004. Enhancing Police Legitimacy. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences 593: 84–99.Google Scholar
Weitzer, Ronald, and Tuch, Steven A.. 2005. Determinants of Public Satisfaction with the Police. Police Quarterly 8, 3: 279–97.Google Scholar
Zepeda Lecuona, Guillermo. 2009. Indice de incidencia delictiva y violencia. Mexico City : Centro de Investigación para el Desarrollo A.C.Google Scholar