Calderon Calls on Next Gov't to Keep Focus on Police EFE
go to original June 3, 2012

President Felipe Calderon said in an address that Mexico's next government should take a cue from his administration and continue building "a strong Federal Police" trusted by citizens.

"The next administration will find an institution with unprecedented human and material capabilities that, along with the armed forces, is a solid bastion for safeguarding the rights and liberties of Mexicans," the president said during a ceremony marking Police Day on Saturday.

Calderon, who will leave office in December, has made fighting Mexico's drug cartels and other organized crime groups a priority during his term.

The overhaul of Mexico's police departments "is a task that should be continued," Calderon said.

The Federal Police currently has 36,055 officers, or 5.5 times more officers than it had in December 2006, when Calderon took office.

The administration has made an effort to improve the quality of the force, and 23.8 percent of Federal Police officers now have university educations.

Calderon and the dignataries attending Saturday's ceremony honored the 336 officers killed in the line of duty and presented decorations to about 500 other officers.

From Dec. 1, 2006, to May 24, 2012, the Federal Police arrested 3,007 people linked to Mexico's drug cartels, the Public Safety Secretariat said.

Marijuana seizures grew 13.8 percent during the period, compared to the 2000-2006 administration of President Vicente Fox, to 538,351 kilos, while cocaine seizures surged 30.6 percent to 33,344 kilos and pseudoephedrine seizures soared 317 percent to 14,626 kilos.

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