JUAREZ HELPS MEXICO HONE POLICE TACTICS

As drug violence in Juarez rages on, Mexico is using the city as a
testing ground for programs to combat cartels and eventually defeat them.

A recently released U.S. Department of State report states that
Juarez, the hotbed of the Mexican drug wars, is being used to
implement federal police programs before they are used in other cities.

For example, in Juarez the federal Department of Public Safety has
taken control of the emergency call center and is looking for ways to
improve emergency response times, the U.S. report states. The federal
police has placed a GPS in every federal, municipal and state police vehicle.

Those two changes have cut response time by law enforcement from 20
minutes to about 12, the report states.

"These efforts indicate new and creative thought in addressing
citizen issues, and they provide a template for other state and local
governments to replicate throughout Mexico," the report states.

Since 2008, when the drug cartel war started in Juarez, more than
6,400 people have been killed. This year alone, about 2,200 have been
slain in Juarez. Those casualty figures make this border city of 1.8
million people the epicenter of the drug cartel war.

As part of the overall plan in Juarez, President Felipe Calderon put
the local city police departments under state and federal control,
and a new police force is in the process of being selected and
trained. The new force will be better trained and paid, the report states.

Currently, in Juarez there are 5,000 federal law enforcement
officers, as well as 2,800 city police officers and 200 state police.

Also, the federal department of public safety has replaced the
military as the primary security force in the city and has taken
control of all police operations. The move has provided Juarez with a
central law enforcement command center.

"All daily briefings now include police, military and intelligence
forces in the region," the report states.

The city also has been divided into nine areas to better organize
security efforts and to reduce police response times.

Calderon has visited Juarez three times to participate in roundtable
discussions with the community. From this process emerged a program
called "Todos Somos Juarez" that includes 160 commitments from the
community on how it will establish order.

"The Mexican government's direct consultations with civil society in
Cuidad Juarez have set a new benchmark for civil society engagement,"
the report states.