Policing Suppose You Are Traveling

¶ … Policing

Suppose you are traveling in Mexico and are arrested on suspicion of being a drug courier. You are being framed. How do you expect the local police and Mexican courts and correction agencies to treat you?

The courts will more than likely treat you as a suspected criminal, with no basic civil rights. While the police will treat you, as if you are someone who has decision to make about their future. This means that you will have to consider, if you want to pay these officers a bribe or try to beat the charges in the Mexican judicial system. Part of the reason for this, is because the police have been given dramatic powers in their ability to arrest and detain suspects (who are accused of drug trafficking). Even though you are being framed, this could very easily be an attempt to extort some kind of financial reward (on the part of law enforcement) in order to win your freedom. A good example of this can be seen with the fact that the Federal Police make between: $285 to $400 per month. At the same time, they are required to work overtime, including Sunday. When you put these different elements together, it means that law enforcement will more than likely use their power to frame someone, in order to secure some kind of bribe. ("Mexico Police and Law Enforcement," 2004)

Once you enter the Mexican justice system, it is not uncommon to be slow and inefficient. As they are known for not respecting the basic civil rights of: the accused and they are held inhumane prison conditions. This means that you will more than likely be treated as an outsider (by the justice system and corrections), who will automatically assume that you are drug trafficker (despite the fact that you are being framed). This is important, because it shows how there are limited individual civil liberties protections. While at the same time, law enforcement will abuse their power, to seek some kind additional financial benefit for themselves. (Guiterez, 2001)

Compare this perceived treatment with the kind of treatment you are likely to receive from a typical U.S. police agency. What procedures are you likely to undergo if you are arrested for the same offense in the United States?

In the United States, there would be greater protections for the accused. As anyone who is arrested by law enforcement must be made aware of their basic civil rights. At which point, you have the option of determining if: you would like to talk to law enforcement alone or with your lawyer present during all questioning. You would then be booked and transferred to the jail, awaiting your preliminary hearing before the courts. ("Rights of the Accused," 2008)