10/12/10 – Although President Felipe Calderon’s “Mando Unico” initiative, which would create a single police force, has not yet been approved, Aguascalientes has decided to implement the project at a local and state level, becoming the first state in México to do so. According to the Aguascalientes website, Governor Luis Armando Reynoso Femat and the eleven municipal mayors signed a Coordination Agreement that establishes a unified public security command with the intention of creating coordinated work under the same vision.
Governor Reynosa noted that the first act of the unified police force will be to purge all of the police entities so that only reliable elements are serving the public. However, according to the online news source El Universal, the new government body will be headed by the State Secretary of Public Security (Secretario Estatal de Seguridad Pública), Eugenio Rolando Hidalgo Eddy, who has been accused of abusing his authority. A total of 1,500 municipal police elements and 500 transit officers will join the state level police force. Meanwhile, reforms are being made to the state constitution for the structure of the unified command.
Sources:
El Economista. “Aguascalientes firma mando único policial.” 11 Octubre, 2010.
Rivera, Luigi. “Aguascalientes oficializa mando único de policía.” El Universal. 12 Octubre, 2010.
