Ecatepec, Mexico
The mayor of Ecatepec, Mexico, has abolished traffic fines in an attempt to stop police officers from shaking down motorists for bribes, The Washington Post reported this week. Mayor Eruviel Avila Villegas said dishonest officers made as much as $2,000 per month, nearly four times their salary, by busting drivers for parking and traffic offenses, then demanding cash on the spot. “People will always speed,” he said. “But this way they won’t have to pay bribes.” Police in the city of 2.5 million complained that the new no-fines policy made it impossible to maintain order. “People know we can’t do anything,” said officer Erasmo Rosas Buenrostro, “and they laugh in our faces.”
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