Tijuana Mayor Jorge Ramos has given his police chief a new assignment this year: to focus on common crime.
Ramos says common criminal activity in Tijuana has increased recently. "Since we're fighting drug lords in the city. But our main responsibility is to fight the robberies and that kind of crime in the city, so that's going to be our main object this year," he says.
Ramos says it will not only make Tijuana neighborhoods safer, but will also help attack organized crime.
He says drug cartels are using common criminals to replenish cartels' ranks. Ramos says combating common crime will take those potential collaborators out of service.
Tijuana's police chief, Julian Leyzaola says he'll add assaults, robberies and burglaries to his list of priorities.
Meanwhile, some crime watchers and people in Tijuana's business sector have complained that Tijuana's police force has left large swaths of the city unprotected while police battle organized crime.
