Jalisco security chief faces questions over crime and police conduct

Reporting and context

A Jalisco lawmaker challenged the state government's security record after citing a figure showing that 78.9% of residents feel unsafe, while Security Secretary Juan Pablo Hernández defended police conduct and reported declines in extortion and homicide.

According to UDGTV, PRI legislator Alondra Fausto raised the insecurity figure, attributed to INEGI and included in the government's own report, during the state Congress's review of the second government report. She asked how technology and institutional coordination would translate into everyday safety.

UDGTV reported that Hernández also faced questions from legislators Candelaria Ochoa, Mariana Casillas and Tonantzin Cárdenas about state police protocols during demonstrations on October 11 and 18.

Hernández said he had received intelligence that people from other states intended to cause violence at the October 18 protest. He denied identifying them as Morena members. He attributed the warning partly to federal intelligence officials and state agencies, saying social media images suggested plans to injure officers with Molotov cocktails. That account was the secretary's explanation to lawmakers.

Congress president Enrique Velázquez, of Hagamos, said questioning the Security Cabinet was intended to correct strategies and reduce crime and fear, and that officials appearing before Congress had to take responsibility.

Hernández reported 701 arrests for federal and state offenses this year, as well as the detention of 20 U.S. targets sought by the DEA, FBI and ICE. He said cyber police detected 126 social media groups involved in recruitment and fraud, plus 110 accounts used for cryptocurrency fraud.

The secretary claimed reductions of 46% in extortion and 35% in homicide during the government's second year. He also cited improved perceptions of safety in Tonalá, Tlajomulco, Tlaquepaque and Puerto Vallarta. The article did not provide the comparison baseline for those crime reductions or the survey period behind the 78.9% figure.

Original publication: UDGTV.