Dividing Jurez into patrol sectors cuts down crime rates, claims Jurez city manger
On Monday Jurez City Manager Hctor Arcels Prez said Jurez was seeing a sizable, sustained decline in homicides.
“The criminality has gone down,” Prez delcared. “”We had 30 to 35 homicides in August. It’s a clear indication Juarez is changing. Things are getting better.”
Prez serves directly under Jurez Mayor Hector Murgia. According to Prez, Murgia’s administration made a calculated decision to pursue what he calls “Police Sectorization.” He claimed the program was a major factor in the recent drop in murder rates.
Prez said the concept of Police Sectorizationcame from law enforcement in Tijuana, under Lieutenant Colonel Julin Leyzaola Prez. The program also appears to cherry-pick portions of Community Policing, a common tactic employed by police in the United States. The way Prez described Police Sectorization seemed to hone in on the geographic assignment portion of theDepartmentof Justice document, “Community Policing Defined.”
The document reads, “With community policing, there is a shift to the long-term assignment of officers to specific neighborhoods or areas. Geographic deployment plans can help enhance customer service and facilitate more contact between police and citizens, thus establishing a strong relationship and mutual accountability.”
We have divided the city in different districts we entered in different areas of the city with the purpose of security,” said Prez, describing the first phase of the program he credits for the drastic decline in murders.
According to Prez the first “operational”portion of the program is about to end, and give way to the second phase of Police Sectorization.
In phase two, Prez said, “Police will be more aware of the small sectors in which they will (increase) contact with the community. This is going to be sectoring of a preventative nature.”
Prez said the second phase of Police Sectorization should begin in September.
Tuesday, El Diario reported 16 people were murdered in the first three days of September. The figure equates to nearly half of August’s record-breakinglow in Jurez homicides.
