This article first appeared in Política Expansión México on January 20, 2022.
Almost half of Mexicans who encountered public security agents suffered some act of corruption on their part, in the second half of 2021, as revealed by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi).
It is estimated that between July and December 2021, 11.3% of the population over 18 years of age had contact with any public security authority.
Of these people, 46.6% reported having suffered some act of corruption by personnel belonging to the various security forces, as revealed by the National Survey of Urban Public Safety.
In the municipality of Miguel Hidalgo, the percentage was 71.3%.
In Mexico City, this situation was more serious. For example, in the municipality of Tláhuac, 67.9% of those who had a confrontation with a public security agent suffered some act of corruption.
The percentage was higher in the municipality of Miguel Hidalgo, where 71.3% of the encounters between citizens and members of the security “authority” involved some act of corruption perpetrated by the agents.
The percentages of corruption for Tlalpan, Xochimilco, and Coyoacán were 65, 59, and 53.7%, respectively.
On the other hand, only 19.8% of citizens in Milpa Alta who had contact with public security agents suffered some act of corruption.