Kidnapping and trafficking in persons, among the crimes with the highest rates during the first two months of 2022: Common Cause

According to the report of the organization Causa en Comuno, Analysis of Criminal Incidence January-February 2022, in the first two months of 2022 there was an increase in the following crimes compared to the same period in 2021: abductions, human trafficking, robbery with violence, extortion, drug abuse and femicide, according to data of the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System (SESNSP).

Among the crimes that increased the most are trafficking in persons, which increased by 56%, and kidnapping, which increased by 40%. While robbery with violence increased 11% and extortion by 10%. Drug abuse and femicide increased 2% each.

In contrast, the crimes that reported a decrease from January 1 to February 28 of this year were: family violence (-14%), murder (-14%) and vehicle theft with violence (-4%).

Regarding trafficking in persons, there were 145 victims from January to February 2022. In this crime, 6 states are down and 15 are on the rise, mainly Oaxaca, Chihuahua, Queretaro, Sinaloa and Mexico City. The Cuauhtémoc mayor's office had the highest number of reported cases, with a total of 13. It should be noted that during 2021 there were 744 victims of trafficking in persons.

The abduction victims reported in the first two months of this year were 177. In the municipality of Juárez, Chihuahua, the highest number of cases was recorded, with a total of 5, followed by Toluca, in the State of Mexico, and Uruapan, in Michoacán, with 4 each.

Meanwhile, there were 4,439 victims of extortion, most of whom were in the State of Mexico, mainly in municipalities such as Toluca (64), Ecatepec (43), Nezahualcoyotl (41), Tecámac (31), Naucalpan (26) and Cuautitlán Izcalli (20).

With regard to robbery with violence, 9,310 cases were recorded, with Ecatepec, in the Edomex, the municipality with the highest number of victims (505 in total). Regarding drug abuse, 14,718 cases were reported. The municipalities with the highest incidence were: León, Guanajuato, with 3,239; Tijuana, Baja California, with 1,063; and Juárez, Chihuahua, with 561. And with regard to femicide, 157 victims were registered, although there is a problem with the underreporting of this crime, noted the organization Causa en Común,

It should be noted that these figures were obtained on the basis of information in the investigation kits initiated by State procuratorates and prosecutors, and therefore cases that were not reported or were not investigated by the Public Prosecutor's Offices are not covered. According to the National Survey of Victimization and Perception of Public Security, about 93.3% of all crimes nationwide were not reported or an investigation kit was not opened.

Thus, the fact that there is a high figure in recorded crimes does not imply a higher incidence, since a high number could indicate a greater willingness to report and initiate investigations. And vice versa, fewer numbers do not necessarily imply a decrease or greater control over these crimes.

Finally, it should be noted that Mexico is among the main countries with the highest rates of impunity, according to figures from the Global Impunity Index. In 2020 Mexico ranked 60 out of 69 (in 2017 it was in 66th place). This also affects when filing a complaint, since in the absence of trust in the authorities, the victims of these crimes do not proceed to report.

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