The Mexico City government will connect surveillance cameras in banks to the C5 security system to combat robberies targeting customers.
Following an investigation by the newspaper Milenio that identified nine neighborhoods in the capital where bank customers are most at risk of being mugged after withdrawing money, Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum announced that the city had already been working on a security plan.
“We’re working on being able to connect bank cameras to the C5. Linking the systems would be historical, and we’re working to make it a reality.”
She added that the administration is working with the Mexican Banking Association to boost the security in place in financial institutions in order to incorporate them into the system little by little. She said the first district to be connected to the C5 will be Azcapotzalco.
According to Milenio, the high-risk neighborhoods are Colonia Del Valle, Roma Norte, Lomas de Chapultepec, Narvarte, Anáhuac, Hipódromo (Condesa), Polanco, the historic center and Lindavista in the Miguel Hidalgo, Benito Juárez and Cuauhtémoc boroughs.
Police chief Jesús Orta Martínez said in an interview that he was investigating possible cases of collusion between bank employees and criminals working together to rob account holders.
“. . . we are giving special focus to investigating the participation of bank employees who are presumably or probably contributing to this type of incident.”
He added that charges had already been brought against several members of bank security staff for extortion and corruption, though he did not specify the number of cases.
The chief said the banking association was sharing information and videos relevant to the attacks outside banks and ATMs, some of which have been violent.
He implored victims to report and denounce criminal acts, saying it was the only way forward to begin to win back citizens’ trust in authorities.
The mayor stated that in addition to the new security measures, the government will further increase police patrols.
Source: Milenio (sp)
