Policing in Covid Times: Challenges to Improve Police and Citizens Relations

• In Event: Securing the City?: Policing, Equity, and Accountability

Abstract

The paper analyses the relationship between police and citizens develop during the lock down period of Covid, established by national authorities in Mexico in 2020.
Some state and municipal governments have difficulties implementing the “stay at home” ordinance. Other governments tried to implement alternatives to a total lock down and provide incentives for citizens in poor and middle and working-class neighborhoods to endure work and study at home. The policies were implemented either by social workers or by police. These triggered different reaction by neighbors, from a consented to a conditional acceptance to a total rejection of policies. The relationship with police in Working class neighborhoods were strained because the traditional practices of policing are not keen to continuous monitoring and contact with local citizens. Also, several municipal and state police corporations are known for the long-term abusive practices against citizens.
Several programs were launched in order to improve policing in these territories, from community policing to different versions of police mediation and problem solving.
Certain local programs implemented social assistance, caring for single persons in households and senior citizens, as well as for young kids. Some municipalities created public reading workshops and other activities carried out by police groups. But violence in these territories did not really went down and several neighborhoods have been particularly affected by new waves of crime. Also, police corporations have been affected by this crime wave.
After several violent deaths of adolescents in downtown during the covid stay at home call, authorities of Mexico City implemented a program called inside neighborhoods (Barrio adentro), to try to reach adolescents, families in need and other vulnerable households, like single mothers. They tried to make some reforms on the police strategies.
The study compares the perception of security, the relationship with police and other issues related to human and civil rights during the lock down period targeting tow contrasting spaces of the metropolis. It also evaluates the different police responses (from the citizens perspective) in difficult times and whether or not these programs are building resilience in these territories or continue to make people vulnerable. It includes topics of trust, social cohesion, political participation and organizations in the neighborhoods and other issues related to victimization during these period.
Data comes from a two random surveys. One was a telephone random survey in the City and another was applied in two neighborhoods within the metropolitan area of Mexico City, as well as city data on crime and police activities. The areas were selected because they tend to concentrate certain patterns of conflicts between citizens and authorities, as well as because they are areas of experimentation with new programs. The first one is a working-class settlement in the easter peripheric area of the city, where a community police program was implemented, while the second another is part of the inner-city historic center, a place with strong contrast and segregation. On the one hand that has been strongly redevelop -partially gentrified, creating clear areas (and divides) of strong redevelopment and high-end real state and commercial developments, while other areas are still stronghold of informal activities (and some illicit markets, for piracy, counterfeit and stolen products, and illicit drugs) and has several spaces with extremely poor settlements.

Author

• Arturo Alvarado, El Colegio de México