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In its continued drive to further professionalize the police in Los Cabos and protect travelers, a new initiative is being enacted that will see officers without a high school diploma lose their position as law enforcement officers.
Many travelers may be shocked by this; the idea of non-high school-educated individuals enforcing the law in the first place is certainly an eyebrow-raiser.
But, it should be remembered that policing in Mexico as a nation has had a very different development in comparison to other nations.
For both travelers and locals, that status quo is changing fast, and nowhere more so than the destination of Los Cabos.
Tourism Drives Positive Change
Across Mexico, policing comes under intense judgment from citizens.
The police here don’t have the greatest reputation, and in many cities and states, they are heavily distrusted.
In Los Cabos it’s a very different picture, they have a much better professional reputation than their colleagues elsewhere in the country.
But this more positive reputation isn’t accidental; foreign travelers, mostly Americans, have been visiting this beautiful destination for decades. And the systems here have developed in step with tourism to ensure visitors feel safe and protected while on vacation.
Funding, equipment, training, and even salaries here receive much better attention than elsewhere, and while this is driven by the necessity to protect tourists, the outcome serves the local population equally as well.
Constant Improvement
It’s easy for any government or authority to think they’ve done enough and rest on their successes, but a positive trend seen in Los Cabos that shows no sign of slowing is the ethos of constant improvement.
Travelers who keep informed of news in the destination on the run-up to their vacation will notice that new policing improvement initiatives are an almost weekly occurrence.
The following are some prime examples of recent security initiatives to protect tourists
Additional Officers
This summer season it was announced over 300 new police officers are being added to the already sizeable manpower for Los Cabos so an even stronger visible deterrent and response is in place to protect travelers.
K-9 Units
These four-legged officers have been added to the security system for Los Cabos to further enhance policing, with a focus on the discovery of potential narcotics in tourism hotspots.
Security Cameras
One of the biggest initiatives seen this year in Los Cabos was the addition of a huge number of security cameras, as well as the promise that more will be added soon.
Crime in Los Cabos, for the most part, is petty and opportunistic, and the presence of security cameras acts as a constant deterrent wherever they have been installed.
So far they have already had a hugely positive effect on travelers’ favorite spots in Los Cabos, including the Golden Zone nightlife hotspot and the popular marina area.
Hidden Manpower
A huge asset available to protect travelers in Los Cabos is the freedom to call in manpower from both the Guardia Nacional (National Guard) and the local military.
This can cause anxiety for some travelers, the visibility of armed soldiers patrolling is far from a normal sight in most countries, but the military plays a more active role in internal security in Mexico.
It should also be noted, that while the Guardia Nacional may look like a military force, they are in fact Mexico’s federal Gendarmerie.
Most Americans will know the name “federales” from Hollywood movies, well the Guardia Nacional is the modern federal policing force for Mexico.
They were formed in 2019 when the federal police, military police, and naval police were rolled into one entity to supercharge the nation’s ability to protect citizens and travelers on a federal level.
This force polls well with Mexican citizens as the most trusted policing arm, and has already earned an immensely positive reputation for their honest and professional approach to duty.
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