Keeping It Safe in Oaxaca, Mexico
Here is a wonderful article I found in the New York Times
that talks about homeland security in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Twenty deaf police officers have forme a special group in Oaxaca, Mexico to help
keep it safe in this famous Mexican tourist destination.
“Even though we cannot hear, we can really undertake any role” said Gerardo, speaking
through an interpretor.
More than 200 cameras watch over this city, one of several in Mexico that have installed such security systems to fight street crime. Unfortunately many crime victims
do not file complaints as they lack confidence in the justice system.
Visitors to the colonial city of Oaxaca seem reassured by the cameras and signs that
warn that the area is under surveillance.
Oaxaca is not known for high crime, but tourists can be targets for purse snatchers
and pickpockets as in any large city in the United States.
Deaf police officers have a heightened visual attention whih permits them to see trouble developing on the screens, faster than the officers that can hear and speak, but that are
being distracted from the telephones and constant chatter at the command centers.
The officers who are mostly recruited from social service centers and special foundations
said that deafness made it particularly challenging to find meaningful employment.
The police force in Oaxaca, Mexico, calls these new recruits “our silent angels”.
At the Internationsl Airport in Mexico City people in wheelchairs work checking identification in security lines and asnswer questions from visitors.
I think this article is a wonderful example of how the crime scene is being cleaned up in
Mexico! I am so thrilled to read these current developments, and promise to share them with you, my community of readers, who are concerned about safety in Mexico.
