Mazatlan will vigorously go after corrupt police and public officials

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Currently, citizens can report, but the regulation does not stipulate a penalty greater than 36 hours of arrest.

Mazatlán, Sinaloa.- The City Council of Mazatlán seeks to reform the regulations of the Ministry of Public Security to prevent police officers who commit misconduct and alleged acts of corruption from being punished to the fullest extent of the law; and it is that currently, after a complaint or denunciation, they practically get rid of the problem with only a reprimand or an arrest for 36 hours.

“This new regulation is coming very hard, with the modifications that we will make to it, we are going to work very hard, there are three regulations on Public Safety. In fact, this weekend we had the last work table where the director of Legal Affairs of the municipality, the Internal Control Body, is involved in Internal Affairs of Public Security and there are other dependencies such as Honor and Justice and the Secretary of Security itself. Public, we are already adjusting a regulation where we are agreeing on the way to be able to operate”, explained the secretary of the City Council, Édgar González Zataráin.

He assured that there are three regulations in matters of public security, of the Police Branch and of the operation of the Internal Affairs Unit itself, which will be given more strength to disassociate itself from the dependency it has on Public Security.

The Internal Affairs Unit must now be more autonomous and act more responsibly. In that sense, they are giving him legal support with this reform of the regulations and thereby giving him the powers to act against the police elements.

The secretary of the City Council considered that he needed this reform to be able to act, that is why there were no or very few results in terms of Internal Affairs, precisely because the regulations did not allow him to be able to sanction the municipal police, in addition to the fact that the times were very bounded and they are going to be expanded with the subject of investigation and integration, in order to have greater strength and sanctions in that sense.

He warned that with these reforms, the police elements will no longer be able to evade justice and that it is not just a small reprimand or an arrest of up to 36 hours, so now the Internal Affairs Unit must have greater strength so that the offending police officers do not evade their responsibility.

Of the 12 complaints that there are currently against police and traffic elements, for alleged dispossession and corruption, the head of the Internal Control Body, Rafael Padilla Díaz, reported that one of the investigations that are being carried out against police elements has already had its hearing and It is in the resolution stage, and the result of one of the cases is about to come out.

He added that once it is obtained, it will be sent to the corresponding authority so that it can be executed, which leads to the resolution.

He said that in this case it will be sent to the Municipal President so that he executes the sanction that is going to be applied.

Padilla Díaz specified that this is just one of the cases, but there are more in process.

Although he did not confirm it, it is said unofficially that this case could be that of the escort of the Secretary of Public Security, Juan Ramón Alfaro Gaxiola, who allegedly fired shots in the air with his weapon of office in the New Year.

Padilla Díaz called on citizens who are the object of a crime by a municipal server, to file a complaint in order to act, not only against the police but any public official. The complaint can be made in the Internal Control Body or on the electronic page in the City Council portal, which when making the capture arrives directly at this municipal agency.

For his part, Édgar González Zataráin explained that among the complaints there are some against police elements that operated in the Cerritos area, who were carrying out practices of dispossession of people’s belongings late at night and early in the morning, which was when they even hit citizens and took away their money and belongings, according to the complaints filed, which are already in the Internal Control Body and some are yet to be resolved.

“There are a little more than 12 on our behalf, which includes the Tourist Police, the police group that travels through that area (through Cerritos), Municipal Traffic and practically that, and we have a case, but that has already been resolved, it was discharged to a Civic Judge”, explained the municipal official.

He announced that about 5 resolutions of processes against police elements are about to be resolved.

In this regard, Mayor Luis Guillermo Benítez Torres indicated that bad police elements will not be tolerated.

“We call on everyone, tourists, citizens to file a complaint, that they have the civil courage to file a complaint because many times people avoid reporting for fear of reprisals, here we do not protect criminals, in this government criminals are not protected, here yes we have evidence we will go to the consequences that we have to go, “he said.

There are currently 12 complaints against corrupt police officers in the Internal Control Body.

Sinaloa citizen complaint portal

Among the powers of the Citizen Participation Committee are those of proposing projects to improve the instruments, guidelines and mechanisms required for the operation of the electronic reporting and complaint system; propose mechanisms for society to participate in the prevention and reporting of administrative offenses and acts of corruption; and to propose rules and procedures through which the substantiated and motivated petitions, requests and complaints that civil society intends to send to the Superior State Audit Office will be received.

To achieve the above, it is essential that citizens have information on how and where to file a complaint, so with this section, the CPC seeks to take that first step.

Complaints for serious and non-serious administrative offenses in matters of corruption.

They are presented before the Secretariat of Transparency and Accountability of the Government of Sinaloa, before the Internal Control Bodies, the Superior State Audit and the Responsibility Units of the State productive Companies. Applies to public servants, former public servants and individuals linked to serious administrative offenses. The authorities that sanction are the Secretariat for Transparency and Accountability, the Internal Control Bodies or units of administrative responsibilities, in the case of non-serious offenses; and the Court of Administrative Justice through the Specialized Chamber for Administrative Responsibilities, in the case of serious administrative offenses and acts of individuals.

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Complaints for facts that could constitute crimes of corruption. 

The Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Corruption is the body of the Sinaloa State Attorney General’s Office that is in charge of investigating and prosecuting crimes committed by public servants and/or individuals for acts of corruption. 

Crimes for acts of corruption are those committed by public servants and/or individuals based on acts of corruption, established in the Penal Code of the State of Sinaloa.

Complaints for breach of the Transparency Law. 

When a public entity fails to comply with any obligation under the terms of the Law of Transparency and Access to Public Information of the State of Sinaloa, citizens can file a complaint with the State Commission for Access to Public Information through the portal or online. in person at one of the offices of this Commission.

Central Office: Country Courts Building Blvd. Pedro Infante 2911 Pte. Desp. 304 Urban Development Tres Ríos 80020, Culiacán, Sinaloa. Phones (667)758-6820. Toll-Free 01 (800) 830-4855.

North Zone Delegation: Tenochtitlán corner with Niños Héroes, Plaza Real building, local 5, Col. Centro, Los Mochis, Sinaloa. Phone (668)812-4495.

South Zone Delegation: Avenida del Mar #80, local 4, Col. Palos Prietos, Mazatlán, Sinaloa. Telephone (669)910-1046.

If the complaint is the responsibility of federal government authorities. 

The Comprehensive System of Citizen Complaints and Complaints (SIDEC) of the Ministry of Public Administration (SFP) allows complaints of corruption to be filed through three channels: digital, face-to-face, or by post. Citizens can also receive advice by phone or chat.  

How to file a complaint: https://sidec.funcionpublica.gob.mx/#!/

What are the conducts that could constitute crimes or administrative offenses in matters of corruption? Here

Source: elsoldemazatlan.com.mx

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