A paradoxical picture in the face of crime: a merchant friend intensely recriminated the authorities of an entity in the south of the country for the extortions of which he was a victim and led him to pay a monthly fee of 10 thousand pesos. When questioned as to why he had not reported, the argument was the low amount of the loss compared to his profits.
Without a complaint or report, the crime is as if it did not exist. It has been known as a “black figure” or “hidden figure”, and among the reasons that fuel it are the belief that it was a waste of time when appearing at the ministerial agency or because the crime was of little importance in terms of the economic impact.
In the hidden figure, a great opportunity is lost to strengthen citizen intelligence with enabling data, for example, a precise mapping of places or times where extortions occur, or the physical characteristics and modus operandi of criminals.
Even a valuable element of judicial investigation and evidence disappears: the video, if we consider that more than 50 percent of businesses have closed-circuit cameras.
The National Business Victimization Survey (ENVE) from Inegi, presented last week, places extortion as the most frequent crime during 2023, with a criminal prevalence rate of 1,562 per 10,000 economic units; 10 percent lower compared to the 2021 study. Then there were the theft or assault of merchandise, money, supplies or goods, with 1,030, and ant theft with 1,002.
85 percent of the cases were via telephone or other electronic means; the rest was in person. Compared to twelve other crimes that impact businessmen, extortion is the one that generates the least economic losses, which helps to understand the lack of reporting.
To confront this crime and encourage the reporting or denunciation of victims, in Mexico City the Head of Government, Clara Brugada, promoted a comprehensive strategy with legislative and operational aspects.
The Congress of the national capital approved reforms to toughen penalties against extortionists, with up to 15 aggravating circumstances that would lead them to spend 30 years in prison.
In addition, there is already an instrument to promote reporting, the Anti-Extortion Line 55 5036 3301, operated by the Command, Control, Computing, Communications and Citizen Contact Center (C5) of the CDMX, where preventive, psychological and legal, with guaranteed anonymity.
In its first month of operations, it registered more than 600 reports that represent valuable information regarding criminal dynamics and allow the design of more precise security strategies with greater impact.
The national capital exhibits a model against extortion, where the important thing is to report.
Contact:
Salvador Guerrero Chiprés is General Coordinator of the Command, Control, Computing, Communications and Citizen Contact Center (C5) of Mexico City.
www.c5.cdmx.gob.mx
Twitter: @C5_CDMX
The opinions expressed are solely the responsibility of their authors and are completely independent of the position and editorial line of Forbes Mexico.
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