Police bribery and access to methadone maintenance therapy within the context of drug policy reform in Tijuana, Mexico.

AIMS: In 2009, Mexico passed legislation to decriminalize drug possession and improve access to addiction treatment. We undertook research to assess the implementation of the reform among a cohort of people who inject drugs (PWID) in Tijuana. This study specifically sought to determine whether discretionary policing practices like extortion impact access to methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) in Tijuana, a city characterized by high levels of drug-related harms. METHODS: Generalized estimating equation analyses were used to construct longitudinal confounding models to determine the association between paying a police bribe and MMT enrolment among PWID in Tijuana enrolled in a prospective cohort study. Outcome of interest was MMT enrolment in the past six months. Data on police interactions and MMT enrolment were also obtained. RESULTS: Between October, 2011 and September, 2013, 637 participants provided 1825 observations, with 143 (7.8%) reports of MMT enrolment during the study period. In a final confounding model, recently reporting being forced to pay a bribe to police was significantly associated with an increased likelihood of accessing MMT (adjusted odds ratio=1.69, 95% confidence interval: 1.02-2.81, p=0.043). However, in 56 (39.2%) cases, MMT enrolment ceased within six months. The majority of participant responses cited the fact that MMT was too expensive (69.1%). DISCUSSION: Levels of MMT access were low. PWID who experienced police extortion were more likely to access MMT at baseline, though this association decreased during the study period. Coupled with the costs of MMT, this may compromise MMT retention among PWID.

La labor del jefe de sector policial en el entorno sociocomunitario cubano / The work of the chief of the police sector in the Cuban social-community environment / O trabalho do chefe do setor policial no ambiente socio-comunitário cubano

Se aborda la temática de la mezcla de funciones preventivas y represivas de la Policía en la actualidad, simbiosis que ha venido ocurriendo a medida que evoluciona la concepción de la agencia policial, no solo como agente de enfrentamiento de las conductas socialmente desviadas y delictivas, sino también como pieza preventiva en los entornos sociocomunitarios, donde se originan muchas de las modalidades delictivas y socialmente desviadas, que tanto afectan en primer orden a la ciudadanía y al Estado en general. La policía comunitaria se convierte en referente de la investigación, lo que encamina a analizar la figura del Jefe de Sector en Cuba, a través de métodos de revisión bibliográfica y análisis de documentos, que demuestran cómo desde su concepción posee aciertos y aspectos aún por perfeccionar.

Aborda-se a temática da mistura de funções preventivas e repressivas da Polícia na atualidade, a simbiose que acontece enquanto evoluciona a concepção da agência policial, não somente como o agente de enfrentamento das condutas socialmente desviadas e criminais, mas também como a peça preventiva nos ambientes socio-comunitários, onde muitas das modalidades criminais e socialmente desviadas são originadas, quanto afetam na primeira ordem à cidadania e no Estado em geral. A polícia comunitária torna-se um referente de investigação, que conduz a análise da figura do Chefe do Setor em Cuba, através dos métodos de revisão bibliográfica e análise de documentos, que demonstram como desde sua concepção tem sucessos e aspectos ainda para aperfeiçoar.

The subject dealing with the current mixture of the Police preventive and repressive roles is approached as a symbiosis that has been taking place as the conception of the police agency evolves not only as an agent of confrontation of socially deviated and criminal conducts but also as a preventive piece in the social and community environments where many of those criminal and socially deviated modalities originate and so hardly affect citizens in the first place and the State at large. Community Police becomes an investigation referent, which helps analyze through methods involving bibliographical review and document analysis the figure of the Chief of the Police Sector in Cuba and how from its very conception it has shown both successes, failures, and areas for improvement.

La participación comunitaria en asuntos de seguridad ciudadana en Bucaramanga y su Área Metropolitana / Community participation in citizen security affairs in Bucaramanga and its Metropolitan Area / A participação comunitária nos assuntos da segurança cidadã em Bucaramanga e em sua área metropolitana

Las reformas policiales llevadas a cabo en América Latina en las últimas décadas han apostado por estimular la participación ciudadana en el diseño, la ejecución y la evaluación de políticas de seguridad. Se analiza el papel desempeñado por el ciudadano en el actual esquema de prestación del servicio policial en Colombia, a través de la implementación del Plan Nacional de Vigilancia Comunitaria por Cuadrantes en el Área Metropolitana de Bucaramanga, y la percepción que los líderes comunitarios tienen en torno a la efectividad del modelo y al rol del ciudadano como gestor de su propia seguridad.

Police reforms carried out in Latin America during the past decades have been committed to foster citizen participation in the design, introduction and assessment of security policies. The role played by citizens in the current scheme of Police Service rendered in Colombia through the implementation of the “Plan Nacional de Vigilancia Comunitaria por Cuadrantes” (National Community Surveillance Plan by Quadrants) at the Metropolitan Area in Bucaramanga is analyzed, together with the perception that community leaders have of the model effectiveness and the citizens role as the managers of their own security.

As reformas policiais realizadas em América Latina nas últimas décadas apostaram para estimular a participação cidadã no projeto, na execução e na avaliação de políticas da segurança. O papel jogado pelo cidadão no esquema atual do fornecimento do serviço policial na Colômbia é analisado através da implementação do Plano Nacional de Monitoramento Comunitário por Quadrantes na área metropolitana de Bucaramanga, e a percepção que os líderes comunitários têm em torno da eficácia do modelo e ao papel do cidadão como o gestor da sua própria segurança.

La detención desde la perspectiva de la Policía local en España / Detention from the Perspective of the Local Police in Spain / A detenção desde a perspectiva da Polícia Local na Espanha

Desde la perspectiva de la policía local se examina de manera crítica la actividad de imputación y, en especial, la consiguiente aplicación de la medida cautelar personal que la Ley de Enjuiciamiento Criminal denomina “detención” en el ámbito procesal penal español. La aplicación de esta medida provisionalísima de privación de libertad conlleva una serie de problemas y especialidades que merecen una atención detenida y una valoración jurídica, teniendo en cuenta los presupuestos imprescindibles, las finalidades perseguidas, los límites temporales, así como el régimen jurídico de la persona privada de libertad. Todo ello, además, debe ser matizado con apuntes específicos cuando se trata de juicios rápidos, de procesos por delitos de terrorismo, de casos de cooperación internacional, de asuntos en que están imputados menores o delincuentes extranjeros. Por último, se trata de un problema importante desde el punto de vista de la valoración de las pruebas conseguidas en estos procesos y se refiere, en concreto, a la utilización de las declaraciones obtenidas por la policía para fundar la sentencia de condena que finalmente pueda recaer.

From the perspective of the local Police, the imputation and, particularly, the resulting application of the personal precautionary measure that the Law of Criminal Procedure denominates as “detention” in the Spanish criminal procedure sphere is examined in a critical way. The application of this highly urgent measure involving the deprivation of liberty implies a series of problems and specialties deserving close attention and juridical assessment, taking into account the unavoidable presuppositions, the aims pursued and the temporary limits, as well as the legal system affecting the person deprived from liberty. In addition, all of this must be tinged with specific notes where dealing with snap judgments or expeditious trials, along with prosecutions and convictions for terrorist offenses, international cooperation cases, affaires where minors or foreign criminals are involved… Finally, this is an important issue from the point of view of the assessments of proofs obtained in these procedures and refers, specifically, to the use of depositions obtained by Police to base the final convicting as required.

Desde a perspectiva da polícia local atividade de imputação é examinada de maneira crítica, em especial, a aplicação conseguente da medida cautelar pessoal que a Lei do Processo Civil denomina “detenção” no âmbito processual penal espanhol. A aplicação desta medida muito urgente (provisionalísima) da privação da liberdade envolve uma série de problemas e especialidades que merecem uma atenção detalhada e um avaliação jurídica, considerando os prussupostos essenciais, as finalidades perseguidas, os limites provisórios, assim como o regime jurídico da pessoa privada da liberdade. Tudo isso, além, deve ser esclarecido com notas específicas quando trata-se de julgamentos rápidos, dos processos por crimes do terrorismo, dos casos da cooperação internacional, dos assuntos em que os imputados são menores ou delinquentes estrangeiros. Finalmente, trata-se de um problema importante desde o ponto de vista da avaliação dos testes obtidos nestes processos e se refere, em especial, ao uso das declarações obtidas pela Polícia para fundar a sentença da condenação que finalmente pode recair.

Aproximación a la inteligencia policial(la Policía Federal de México, 2006-2012) / An approximation to police intelligence (the federal police of Mexico, 2006-2012) / Abordagem a inteligencia policial (a policia federal do Mexico, 2006-2012)

Del 2006 al 2012, la política criminal del gobierno del presidente Felipe Calderón Hinojosa le dio preeminencia a la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública Federal, encarnada en la Policía Federal, a la que se dotó de una moderna plataforma tecnológica para la inteligencia; por lo tanto, esta contribución se centrará sobre la inteligencia policial y el derrotero de los últimos seis años de la inteligencia de la Policía Federal mexicana.

From 2006 through 2012, President Felipe Calderon’s criminal policy gave priority to the Federal Public Security Secretariat embodied in the Federal Police which was equipped with a modern technological platform for intelligence. Therefore, this contribution will focus on police intelligence and the path of the Mexican Federal Police in the past six years.

De 2006 a 2012, a política criminal do governo do presidente Felipe Calderón Hinojosa deu preeminência para o Secretariado da Segurança Pública Federal encarnada na Polícia Federal, que é dotada de uma moderna plataforma tecnológica para a inteligência; portanto, essa contribuição vai se centrar na inteligência da polícia e o curso dos últimos seis anos da inteligência da Policia Federal mexicana.

Resultados de la Policía Nacional en la lucha contra el crimen, 2011 / Resultados da Polícia Nacional na luta contra o crime, 2011 / 2011 Results of the National Police in the Fight Against Crime

El artículo contiene la descripción de los resultados obtenidos por la Policía Nacional en el desarrollo de estrategias orientadas a garantizar la seguridad y la convivencia ciudadanas en Colombia durante el 2011, entre los cuales están las capturas por todos los delitos consagrados en el Código Penal, el rescate de personas secuestradas, la desactivación de artefactos explosivos, la recuperación de vehículos y la incautación y recuperación de mercancía, entre otras actividades de repercusión nacional e internacional en la lucha contra el crimen.

This article describes the results obtained by the National Police in the development of strategies leading to guarantee security and good citizen coexistence in Colombia during 2011. It refers to captures relating to all criminal offenses established in the Criminal Code, as well as the rescuing of kidnapped persons, the deactivation of explosive artifacts, the recovery of missing vehicles, and the seizure and recovery of stolen merchandise among other activities of wide national and international notoriety in the scene of the fight against crime.

O artigo contém uma descrição dos resultados obtidos pela Polícia Nacional no desenvolvimento de estratégias orientadas para garantir a segurança e a coexistência cidadãs de Colômbia durante 2011, entre eles estão as capturas por todos os crimes, consagradas no Código Penal, o resgate de pessoas sequestradas, a desativação de artefatos explosivos, a recuperação de carros e apreensão e recuperação de bens, entre outras atividades com impacto nacional e internacional na luta contra o crime.

Necropolitics, narcopolitics, and femicide: gendered violence on the Mexico-U.S. border.

In 1993, a group of women shocked Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, with the news that dozens of girls and women had been murdered and dumped, like garbage, around the city during the year. As the numbers of murders grew over the years, and as the police forces proved unwilling and unable to find the perpetrators, the protestors became activists. They called the violence and its surrounding impunity "femicide," and they demanded that the Mexican government, at the local, state, and federal levels, stop the violence and capture the perpetrators. Nearly two decades later, the city's infamy as a place of femicide is giving way to another terrible reputation as a place of unprecedented drug violence. Since 2006, more than six thousand people have died in the city, as have more than twenty-eight thousand across the country, in relation to the violence associated with the restructuring of the cartels that control the production and distribution of illegal drugs. In response to the public outcry against the violence, the Mexican government has deployed thousands of troops to Ciudad Juárez as part of a military strategy to secure the state against the cartels. In this essay, I argue that the politics over the meaning of the drug-related murders and femicide must be understood in relation to gendered violence and its use as a tool for securing the state. To that end, I examine the wars over the interpretation of death in northern Mexico through a feminist application of the concept of necropolitics as elaborated by the postcolonial scholar Achille Mbembe. I examine how the wars over the political meaning of death in relation both to femicide and to the events called "drug violence" unfold through a gendering of space, of violence, and of subjectivity. My objective is twofold: first, to demonstrate how the antifemicide movement illustrates the stakes for a democratic Mexican state and its citizens in a context where governing elites argue that the violence devastating Ciudad Juárez is a positive outcome of the government's war against organized crime; and second, to show how a politics of gender is central to this kind of necropolitics.

Legal consequences for torture in children cases: the Gomez Paquiyauri Brothers vs Peru case.

The Gomez Paquiyauri Brothers case, before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, was the first international case concerning the protection of children in the context of armed conflict where an international court stated the law concerning the duties of States towards children even in the context of war, and provided for reparations. As such it represents a landmark decision. The case arose from the illegal detention, torture and extrajudicial execution of two minors, Emilio and Rafael Gomez Paquiyauri, at the hands of Peruvian Police in 1991, under the Fujimori Administration at a time when the internal war in Peru was at its peak. Unlike most cases coming to the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court, the case had been subject to domestic criminal investigations that had led to the convictions of two low ranking policemen. Yet a more subtle pattern of impunity lied at the root of the case. Torture had been denied by the State, and the prosecutions of low ranking policemen had intended to cover up the responsibility of those who ordered a policy of torture and executions (including the existence of secret codes for the torture and elimination of suspects of "terrorism") during the years of the internal armed conflict in Peru. The joint work of legal and medical expertise in the litigation of the case permitted the establishment of the facts and the law, obtaining an award of 740,500 dollars for the victims and a number of measures of reparation including guarantees of non-repetition and satisfaction, such as the naming of a school after the victims.

Salud pública y violencia doméstica/intrafamiliar / Health public and violence domestic family

La violencia doméstica /intrafamiliar representa un problema social que impacta negativamente en la salud de la población. Esta versión resumida contiene una primera base de datos que muestra los aspectos más sobresalientes constituyéndose en un instrumento de aproximación orientado al quehacer de profesionales del área de salud, para el abordaje integral de este mal social evitable

Enfoque de género y salud / Approach to genero and health

Una de las principales tendencias actuales es sin duda, orientar esfuerzos institucionales hacia un desarrollo humano basado en la equidad. Sin embargo, es difícil y complicado aún conciliar prácticas y discurso teórico sobre todo en el tema desigualdades entre hombres y mujeres

Manual de procedimientos policiales contra la violencia intrafamiliar o doméstica: Policía Nacional / Manual of police procedures against family or domestic violence: national police

El manual establece procedimientos para que el personal policial tenga una guía en la atención adecuada de casos contra la violencia en la familia o doméstica con el propósito de evitar la comisíon de un delito que puede producirse resultante de dichos casos