VivirLatino

Mexico City police officers are infamous for their laissez-faire attitude towards crime (some call it lazi-ness) their corruption (I once got out of being taken in by feeding this corruption myself and giving the officer what he asked for: “dos pesos pa’ un chesco”) and their overall “lack of culture”.

With officers earning about 400 USD per month, it’s easy to see why money for a Coke might be more worth their time than taking me down to the station or running after some thief. And with that salary, I probably wouldn’t be taking any trips to the symphony or the ballet myself.

The police force of Ciudad Neza – perhaps Mexico D.F.’s most infamous suburb — wants to change all that. And the first step that they are taking is to make their officers read and write, through a program called “Literatura Siempre Alerta”:

“The principle is that a police officer who is cultured is in a better position to be a better police officer,” says José Jorge Amador, Nezahualcoyotl’s head of public security.

The experiment began early in 2005 with reading and writing classes. It has since mushroomed into an entire literature course with its own constantly expanding editorial series, called Literature On Alert. All the 1,200 officers of the municipal force are now required to attend fortnightly book groups – while off duty – if they are to have any hope of promotion.

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