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Reforming Mexico's Criminal Justice System: Overcoming Challenges | Crime Data Analysis

Explore the ongoing challenges and reforms in Mexico's criminal justice system, including low reporting rates, investigation inefficiencies, corruption, and delays. Learn about the critical issues and solutions to improve the system.

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Reforming Mexico's Criminal Justice System: Overcoming Challenges | Crime Data Analysis

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  1. Presumed Guilty?Revolutionizing the Criminal Justice System in Mexico March 19, 2012 Matthew C. Ingram Visiting Fellow, Kellogg Institute (2011-2012) University of Notre Dame mingram@nd.edu Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science University at Albany, SUNY

  2. Overview • Challenges to legal system • internal: institutional capacity • external: crime and insecurity • Criminal Procedure Reform of 2008 • Judicial Survey (Justiciabarómetro) • Attitudes • Factors Helping and Hindering Reform • Pending Challenges

  3. Internal Challenges:Weak Institutional Capacity • Weak law enforcement capacity and/or complicity with organized crime; • Ineffective justice system (criminal impunity, weak prisons) All Crimes / Cifra negra Known Crimes 25 of 100 crimes are reported (25%) Criminal Investigations 4.6 of of 25 crimes investigated (18%) Crimes Prosecuted 1.6 of 4.6 investigated (35%) Crimes Brought to Trial 1.2 of 1.6 prosecuted crimes (75%) Crimes Sentenced 1.1 of crimes tried (91%) Source: Guillermo Zepeda Lecuona (2007). Numbers rounded to nearest tenth.

  4. Internal Challenges:Weak Institutional Capacity • Law enforcement: ineffectiveness vs. corruption • no autonomousdiscretion to conduct investigations separatelyfrom public prosecutors • Little to no training in crime scene protection and evidence preservation (field evidence techniques) • Little to no training in effective interviewing, informant development, intelligence • corruption

  5. The Problem of Corruption 2009 Justiciabarómetro: Guadalajara Municipal Police Survey

  6. The Problem of Corruption Police Survey: At what level on the force is corruption the greatest? 2009 Justiciabarómetro: Guadalajara Municipal Police Survey

  7. Internal Challenges:Weak Institutional Capacity • Law enforcement: ineffectiveness vs. corruption • no autonomousdiscretion to conduct investigations separatelyfrom public prosecutors • Little to no training in crime scene protection and evidence preservation (field evidence techniques) • Little to no training in effective interviewing, informant development, intelligence • corruption • solutions thus far also ineffective • long line of police reforms restructuring federal agencies, group patrols, relocation, further reduction of discretion • *** displacement of civil policing model by militarizing fight against organized crime

  8. Internal Challenges:Weak Institutional Capacity • Ineffective justice system • long delays or inaction, especially if poor • system generally seen as unresponsive or abusive/unfair • Examples from judicial process: • accused generally held in custody, even pre-trial, in general population, and legal appearances are from behind bars • prosecution works closely with judge • evidence considered in investigation and entered into file (“expediente”) has probatory value • accused and defense attorney do not see all evidence or file until hearing • process is largely conducted in writing, adding documents and written responses to file • judge at initial hearing is same judge at trial • “Presumed guilty?”

  9. External Challenges: Crime and InsecurityDrug-related Killings Total between Dec. 2006 and Dec. 2011: more than 50,000 Source: Ríos, Viridiana, and David A. Shirk (2011), “Drug Violence in Mexico: Data and Analysis Through 2010” http://justiceinmexico.org/publications/justice-in-mexico-project

  10. External Challenges: Crime and Insecurity

  11. External Challenges: Crime and Insecurity

  12. External Challenges: Crime and InsecurityJournalists killed Source: Molzahn, Cory, Viridiana Ríos, and David A. Shirk (2012), “Drug Violence in Mexico: Data and Analysis Through 2011”, http://justiceinmexico.org/publications/justice-in-mexico-project Total of 111 incidents between 2000 and June 2011: 75 killed, 13 disappeared, and 23 violent attempts Source: FEADLE (PGR)

  13. Overview • Challenges to legal system • internal: institutional capacity • external: crime and insecurity • Criminal Procedure Reform of 2008 • Judicial Survey (Justiciabarómetro) • Attitudes • Factors Helping and Hindering Reform • Pending Challenges

  14. Criminal Procedure ReformTiming of Implementation (as of 3/2011)

  15. Overview • Challenges to legal system • internal: institutional capacity • external: crime and insecurity • Criminal Procedure Reform of 2008 • Judicial Survey (Justiciabarómetro) • Attitudes • Factors Helping and Hindering Reform • Pending Challenges

  16. New Data:Justiciabarómetro Surveys Surveys of criminal justice system professionals (1) 2009/2010: police in Guadalajara, Ciudad Juarez (2) 2010: judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys in 9 states Source: Ingram, Matthew C., Octavio Rodriguez Ferreira, and David A. Shirk (2011), “Justiciabarómetro: Survey of Judges, Prosecutors, and Public Defenders in Nine Mexican States.” Available at: http://justiceinmexico.org/publications/justice-in-mexico-project/

  17. Justiciabarómetrostates in 2010 survey of judges and lawyers

  18. Justiciabarómetro2010Respondents by state and profession

  19. JusticiabarómetroResponse Rates by State and Profession

  20. Justiciabarómetro2010

  21. Overview • Challenges to legal system • internal: institutional capacity • external: crime and insecurity • Criminal Procedure Reform of 2008 • Judicial Survey (Justiciabarómetro) • Attitudes • Factors Helping and Hindering Reform • Pending Challenges

  22. Traditional system was “effective and efficient”

  23. Confidence in prior system(that own rights would be respected, guilty be caught)

  24. Likeresults of 2008 reform?

  25. Other countries with reform have shown it works

  26. Will new system reduce corruption?

  27. Will new system reduce criminality?

  28. Overview • Challenges to legal system • internal: institutional capacity • external: crime and insecurity • Criminal Procedure Reform of 2008 • Judicial Survey (Justiciabarómetro) • Attitudes • Factors Helping and Hindering Reform • Pending Challenges

  29. Criminal Procedure ReformTiming of Implementation (as of 3/2011)

  30. Factors Helping and Hindering Reform • Helping • Implementation • Legal education • Leadership • Networking • Hindering • Older generation of judges and magistrados • Poor coordination across institutions • Sensational attention to “errors” of the system • Chihuahua; Durango • Resources • Electoral politics *** Time ***

  31. Pending Challenges • Re-assertCivilianPolicingModel • part of long-termsecurity and developmentstrategy • PoliceAutonomy and Discretion • long line of failedpolicereforms • difficultto do ifcapacityislow and corruptionishigh • IntelligenceCapacity • at alllevels • perhapsmostimportantly at local levels • Real PreventiveMindset • Consider: evenifeverypart of thereformworkswelltoday, whatkeeps more people – mostlyyoungmen – fromjoiningcrimeorganizationstomorrow? • Whose responsibility?

  32. Thankyou!

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