Mexico’s president wants to replace local police departments with state forces so the government can better fight unrelenting drug violence that has claimed nearly 23,000 lives, reports the Associated Press. One goal is to root out corruption by replacing generally low-paid, poorly educated local police, who are seen as susceptible to bribery and intimidation by powerful cartels.
Pending a cost analysis, Calderon intends to present the plan to Congress when it resumes in September. Mexico’s Public Safety secretary floated the idea last year, but it received a lukewarm response. Some officials worried that it would be hard to police many of Mexico’s 2,439 municipalities if local departments were eliminated. Only 12 of Mexico’s 31 states even have their own police forces.