|
Mexico - We have three several different levels of police, like many other
countries. Federal, state, municipal, transit and ministerial among others
(there are certainly more but this are the ones that you encounter for the
most part.). The general view varies wildly between each different level. Federal police: They are generally considered to be highly educated individuals
so they have a certain amount of respect among civilians, most people feel
comfortable around them and will trust them in case of an emergency. State police: They are kind of iffy, particularly in my state you generally
don't get to see ordinary state officers patrolling the city, but the
state police has a famed SWAT team that is staked out at the state border 24/7
and will sometimes be seen patrolling around the city at night. Even though
it has been a couple of years, they still have this terrible reputation
that where ever they go something (not nice) is probably going to go down.
A few years back they were always early whenever large shootout broke out,
so now people are wary of them. Municipal police: They are generally viewed as lazy uneducated people, and
have a certain fame of being rude, corrupt (although, they aren't particularly corrupt),
and unhelpful which is certainly warranted. Most people don't feel
comfortable calling them. Transit police: They are known for preying on the most vulnerable in an attempt
to make some quick bucks, some are quite cheeky, most are rather subtle. Ministerial police: They have a reputation of rampant corruption, and depending
on where you lie on the socio-economic ladder, you are either not scared at all of
them or you are absolutely terrified about having to deal with them. YMMV. |