Uruapan police force operates at less than 20% capacity

The municipal police force in Uruapan, Michoacán, is currently operating at less than 20% of its required capacity following a mass dismissal of officers by the local city council approximately one month ago. While the municipality should ideally have between 780 and 800 officers, official records currently show only about 389 elements, and officials are uncertain how many of those are actually performing operational duties.

Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla attributed the security crisis to these dismissals, noting that the reduction has left the corporation overwhelmed by rising violence and insecurity. In response, the state government has ordered the State Public Security Secretariat to intervene and will implement proximity policing operations to support local merchants and residents.

César Erwin Sánchez Coria, head of the State Executive Secretariat of Public Security (SESESP), announced a review this week to verify which registered officers are active in the field versus those in administrative roles. While the federal government is constructing a special barracks for the Uruapan Municipal Police, state authorities emphasized that infrastructure alone will not resolve the security challenges without increasing the number of active officers.