State crime rates highlighted

A Mexican agency reported that Baja California is among the nation’s states with the highest crime rates.

The Citizens’ Council of Public Safety and Penal Justice reported that two of the state’s cities are among the top 10 in terms of the highest homicide rates per 100,000 residents.

On its report entitled “Violence in Municipalities in Mexico,” the organization listed Baja California as one of the most unsafe states in Mexico along with Guerrero, Oaxaca and Zacatecas, La Crónica newspaper reported Friday.

Tijuana was considered the second-most violent city in the country in terms of homicides. The coastal city is only below Tecomán, Colima.

The other Baja California city ranked in the top 10 for homicides is Rosarito Beach.

The report also placed Mexicali, Tecate and Tijuana in the top 20 Mexican cities in terms of sexual assault cases.

Last year, the Mexican government spent 16 billion pesos, or $864.8 million, on crime prevention.

“This was a waste of money,” Council Chairman José Antonio Ortega said in the report. “They (the past administration) left the country more violent and insecure.”

The organization said President Andrés Manuel López Obrador administration plans to massively increase spending by appropriating more subsidies without focusing on specific areas.

Ortega said in the report that crime prevention subsidies have not decreased violence in the country, and he opined that additional funds will not reduce crimes, either.