Impunity is rampant in Mexico: study

Impunity is rampant in Mexico and it is very high in at least 25 of the 32 states.

A research conducted for nine months by the University of the Americas Puebla (UDLA) and the Citizen Security and Justice Council of Puebla concluded that Mexico has a national impunity average of 67.42 points.

Dr. Luis Ernesto Derbez and his team of specialists used official data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) for the Global Impunity Index Mexico (IGI-MEX) 2016.

The study revealed that only seven of every 100 crimes committed in Mexico are reported. And the National Survey of Victimization and Public Security Perception of Public Safety (Envipe) 2013 revealed that up to 92.8% of crimes are not reported.

Moreover, only 4.46% of the reported crimes are punished, which means that impunity is even higher, 99%, because only 1% of crimes are punished.

In Mexico, 13 states have a very high level of impunity: Quintana Roo with 76.61 points; State of Mexico with 76.48; Baja California with 74.42; Durango with 73.97 points; Tamaulipas 73.38; Guerrero 73.19; Coahuila 72.93; Yucatán 72.80; Veracruz 72.38; Querétaro 72.24; Nuevo León and Oaxaca 71.63 and Baja California Sur 70.74.

Twelve states have a high impunity: Morelos (69.37), Sinaloa (69.34), Puebla (69.19), Tabasco (69.10), Aguascalientes (68.37), Hidalgo (67.90), Tlaxcala (67.69), Jalisco (67.45), Colima (67.01), Zacatecas (66) and Guanajuato (65.15). Though Michoacán got 67.71 points, the indicator is not considered reliable because of the situation of violence and organized crime that has prevailed over the last years.

The states with an average impunity level are: Chiapas (59.96), Chihuahua (59.94), Sonora (58.41), Mexico City (56.97) and and San Luis Potosí (56.86 points).

Nayarit and Campeche have low impunity levels: 50.42 and 47.22 respectively.