Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Police put to work as construction laborers despite officer shortage

Despite a shortage of police, officers were called on to do some construction work in Naucalpan, México state, where there appears to be a similar shortage of albañiles, or laborers.

Some 20 officers and academy cadets were seen working on a new floor at police headquarters in the Alce Blanco neighborhood on Thursday.

“Everyone has to pitch in,” police Captain Lázaro Gaytán Aguirre told the newspaper El Universal.

“It’s only eight officers working on it,” he added.

However, El Universal documented at least 20 officers at work on the building.

They were mixing cement and moving it in buckets up to the roof of the station, where they had raised walls to add another story.

“The remodeling work they’re doing is just for today, they’ll finish today. It’s a new story we’re putting in to make space,” Gaytán said.

“We’re using officers to do it because we’re trying to make the best use of the resource,” he added.

Gaytán insisted that crime rates in Naucalpan have dropped, but did not provide specific data. He did, however, admit to a 600-officer shortage in the municipality.

Sources: El Universal (sp), El Heraldo de México (sp)

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
2 people with rain umbrellas

Heavy June rains reduce Mexico’s drought-affected territory by 13%

2
As of June 15, the percentage of the country experiencing moderate to exceptional drought conditions fell to 37.5%, well below the 73.79% recorded on the same date in 2024. 
Poverty rate in Mexico

Report: Mexico’s poverty reduction policies outperform all 37 OECD member countries

0
Government policies in Mexico helped reduce relative poverty by 3.9 percentage points from 2012 through 2021, whereas other member nations only saw poverty decline by one point in the same period.
Sheinbaum on Iran

Sheinbaum: ‘Mexico will always be a factor for peace’ after US-Iran escalation

2
President Claudia Sheinbaum on Sunday expressed opposition to war and called on the United Nations to lead a peacebuilding process after the United States military attacked three nuclear facilities in Iran.