Fear and Distrust in Baja

Tijuana’s secretario de turisimo, Oscar Escobedo Carignan, was quoted in El Mexicano on Monday, July 20, regarding the state of relations between Baja´s police forces and tourists from north of the border. Escobedo said that fear and distrust are still common perceptions when it comes to police.

Among the measures taken to control ¨problem police¨ and reduce the number of complaints, according to Escobedo, is the enlistment of officials from the federal division of roads and bridges; they’ve been given the authority to approach vehicles that have been stopped by police and investigate as to whether visitors are being shaken down for bribes.

Several areas are problematic -- the road between Tijuana and Rosarito, Zona Central, and the area around Zona Rio, the location of the high-end shopping center a couple miles southeast of Revolución and downtown Tijuana.