SAN DIEGO – Tijuana Mayor Jorge Ramos visited San Diego yesterday to invite his neighbors to the north to once again visit his city.
To encourage them, the mayor announced a new method for tourists to file complaints about police officers or other city employees in English through the Internet from the safety of their homes. The link will also accept complaints about state and federal employees, which will be forwarded to the proper agency, and reports of crimes against tourists that occur in Tijuana.
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Online: To file a complaint, go to consulmexsd.org and click on the green link that asks, “Complaints about your trip to Tijuana?”
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The recent wave of high-profile slayings and gunbattles has taken its toll on tourism, a vital element of the city's economy, Ramos said. Since January, the city has seen a 70 percent drop in visitors, and many businesses that depended on tourist dollars have closed.
With the cooperation of the state and federal governments, the city has cleaned up the city's main tourist area, centered on Avenida Revolucion, Ramos said. More than 100 officers are assigned to patrol the area, and frequent police sweeps are made, the mayor said.
The city also fired 60 officers who flunked tests about their honesty, and 100 new patrol cars are equipped with microphones and cameras to monitor officers' activities.
While the mayor acknowledges that Tijuana still faces serious challenges in its ongoing struggle with organized crime, he is confident that visitors can return to his city and have a good time.
“It is safe to visit Tijuana,” Ramos said. “The criminals know we are very committed to cleaning up the city.”
Complaints will be forwarded to the internal-affairs office at Tijuana's police department, and those who file them can expect a response within 72 hours, Ramos promised. They will also be kept up to date as to the progress of the complaint.
If an incident enters the judicial system, the complainant could be asked to come to Mexico to testify, but Ramos said the city will try to handle the matter internally.
The mayor said the city has gone about six weeks without the type of high-profile crime he blames for driving away visitors. He characterized the slayings of seven people last weekend in several apparently unrelated incidents as something typical of a city with a population of nearly 2 million.
“We want people to visit Tijuana like they used to,” the mayor said during a news conference at the Little Italy offices of María de los Remedios Gómez, the Mexican consul in San Diego, who was by his side.
San Diego police will continue a program of taking courtesy reports of crimes that occurred south of the border and forwarding them to the proper agency, a spokesman said.
Jose Jimenez: (760) 737-7568; jose.jimenez@uniontrib.com
