Job Discussion Forums

la reina · Joined: 12 Jun 2008 Posts: 5

Hi,
I'm a Canadian woman (from Toronto) considering making the move to DF for a non-teaching job, but I keep hearing and reading about the amount of crime down there. And, naturally, I'm scared and concerned.
I just want to hear from those of you living there, what the overall 'feeling' of personal safety is like.

I have read in this forum many people saying not to listen to those things, and just come and see for myself that the Mexican people are kind. But I think I'd like to hear more about the very real climate of crime and personal safety.

Your comments and feedback are much appreciated.

john_n_carolina · Joined: 26 Feb 2006 Posts: 700 Location: n. carolina

...it's a bit too large and complicated to explain/discuss on an ESL forum. i was doing my M.A on this subject (Rise of Crime / Gangs in L.America) until i got sidetracked last year.

do a search and you'll find 4 or 5 threads with this topic at length.

i think the general consensus was that there is more / considerable more petty theft South of the border. but, it really varies city by city North of the Mexican border.

obviously, i'm in Maine and we (my family) don't lock our doors during the day nor turn off our cars at the gas station / supermarket.

just read a recent article also that crime in L.Angeles hit a 30 year low with very very few murders.

one distinction, i've noticed over the years in N.America is that it seems there are crazier people / crazier crimes. one recent example rekindled my memory - the Greyhound Bus stabbing / beheading / canabalizing in / going to Winnipeg. the person charged had absolutely no criminal history nor had done any kind of hospitalization for mental issues.

la reina · Joined: 12 Jun 2008 Posts: 5

Just read this article from CNN: 'Every day, there are more and more kidnappings' (LINK: http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/08/13/mexico.kidnappings/?iref=mpstoryview)

It says that "According to the Mexico City prosecutor's office, kidnappings rose 76 percent in the first four months of 2008 compared with last year."

MO39 · Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 6:28 pm Post subject:

I feel safer living in my nice, but not super-fancy, neighborhood in Mexico City than I did living in Philadelphia or even New York City, which has gotten much safer over the years. While I feel safe walking to the supermarket at 9 p.m. or back from the movies at 10, I wouldn't take a walk around here in the middle of the night, but, then, where could you do that safely anywhere in the world? Just one ex-pat's experience of living in Mexico....

la reina · Joined: 12 Jun 2008 Posts: 5

Thanks MO 39 for sharing your experience. And I'm pleased to hear that you feel safe living in Mexico City. So do you feel like all the media reports here in North America are exaggered, or skewed?

Okay, this is totally inappropriate, but I'll put it out there: Are you between 30-35 years old?
I'll understand if you choose not to answer that.

MO39 · Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 6:59 pm Post subject:

notamiss · Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 7:06 pm Post subject:

Any sense I might have that I'm less safe in Mexico is thoroughly counterbalanced by my daily read of the newspaper from my southern Ontario home town. Plenty of bad stuff seems to go on there every day. Also keep in mind that the population of Mexico is over 3 times Canada's, and Mexico City is 10 times the size of Toronto, so bare numbers�in contrast to proportions�don't tell an accurate story.

Where I see the most bias or skew is that reporting of crime in Mexico often somehow leaves the reader with an impression that foreigners�tourists, visitors or foreign residents�are at higher risk than locals. On the contrary, the facts don't bear this out.

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

El Gallo · Joined: 05 Feb 2007 Posts: 318

I agree with Guy. Usually it's the rich trying to screw the other rich in Mexico or the government or police trying to get a few pesos in mordidas from the little guys.

Most know teachers are poor and I have found even the police regard my status as an extranjero too much trouble to deal with. I no longer pay mordidas. After 15-20 minutes of frustration with my deliberately bad (worse than normal) Spanish, most people just give up on trying to deal with me and tell me to move along. Smile

john_n_carolina · Joined: 26 Feb 2006 Posts: 700 Location: n. carolina

kosherpickle · Joined: 24 Nov 2006 Posts: 93

hm, i am told, as a foreigner, that i may be more of a target because these potential kidnappers could hear me talk, notice a yank accent and think i come from money, or at least that i have a bank account(express kidnapping fun!), and because of this they will nab me for my money.

ls650 · Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia

Guy Courchesne · Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City

jfurgers · Joined: 18 Sep 2005 Posts: 442 Location: Mexico City

It seems like a lot of Mexicans don't trust the police. They don't even like to talk with them or ask questions. This latest incident with the 14 year old being killed won't help. My wife's nephew wonders why she and I always talk with the cops in the Perisur mall.

I never feel scared here in the D.F. even with all of the reports of kidnappings. But then again I don't watch the news everyday because they only report the bad things. I was in a business district in Polanco today and noticed that all of the security guards I saw only had pistols, but where I live (in the south), they have automatics.

I actually feel safer in my neck of the woods because everywhere I go here, there are cops with automatics. Wal-Mart, across the street at Sanborns, banks. You name it, they have the autos. I guess it would be hard to kidnap someone here.
The companies across the street from me (Telmex, Imbursa Groupo Finacier) have cops EVERYWHERE. I've never seen so many automatic weapons.
I actaully feel safer at the Perisur mall than any mall in the States. Don't worry, kidnappers KNOW before they take someone that the family has MILLIONS. EFL teachers have nothing to worry about from the real organized kidnappers.
So, do you all thing that the protests they have planned for September 6 will help change anything?

MikeySaid · Joined: 10 Nov 2004 Posts: 509 Location: Torreon, Mexico

I'm not in Mexico City, but I have always felt very safe there.

Here in Torreon, things are consistently getting worse. One of the neighboring cities in the Laguna is currently being policed by the Mexican Army because the police all threw up their hands and quit after several were murdered in the police station by one of the two drug trafficking groups that has moved into the area. It hasn't touched me personally, but I am aware that the city has changed. Clubs have closed their doors as have casinos. Restaurants are closing earlier, and the state of Durango (read: Gomez Palacio and Lerdo) are to be avoided at night.

As a foreigner you are actually better protected by Mexican law in terms of crimes of opportunity. The penalties are stiffer for Mexicans who go after Canucks and Yanquis.

I would be more worried about getting randomly hit in a balacera than I would be worried about getting kidnapped.