Rising Crime Reports in Quintana Roo Signal Greater Trust, Official Says

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Rising crime figures in Quintana Roo reflect growing public confidence in reporting offenses and in the investigations that follow, according to James Tobin, coordinator of the state’s Citizens’ Tables for Security and Justice.

Tobin pointed to three crime indicators that are climbing and that the public might read as bad news, but which he considers a positive sign.

“I’ll name three indicators that are on the rise and that people may think are bad, but to me they are very good,” he said. “Extortion has to rise, because there is an enormous number of unreported cases, and as long as people don’t file complaints — which is where the information comes from — we’re not making progress. So today we have an increase, a year-over-year rise in reports to the 089 line.”

On human trafficking, Tobin said Quintana Roo accounts for 25 percent of all case files opened nationwide in Mexico, a figure he attributed to investigative work. Increases in retail drug dealing, he insisted, stem from police operations.

Crimes That Reflect Social Deterioration

Other offenses, however, are growing because of what Tobin described as serious social deterioration, and those genuinely worry the citizens’ panels: family violence and rape, both of which occur behind closed doors and affect the most vulnerable groups.

Reports of family violence have jumped from 300 to 1,700 over the past decade, an increase Tobin linked partly to women’s empowerment but which he said must be confronted more forcefully. Sexual offenses, he added, typically take place within the victim’s immediate circle.

“Rape very often comes hand in hand with family violence; these are crimes that happen inside the home,” he said. “Unfortunately they usually involve relatives, or people who are not relatives but are very well known, people close to the victim, and that is what hurts the most — the uncle who rapes his niece. That is what hurts the most, because it happens within the family. So we have to work harder to make people recognize when they are being sexually violated.”

Against that backdrop, Tobin stressed the importance of early prevention and of tools such as the violentómetro, a checklist used to help people identify warning signs of abuse. He also said public safety requires shared responsibility, with citizens reporting crimes rather than becoming complicit in domestic violence through silence.

Perception of Insecurity Falls

On a more positive note, Tobin said the perception of insecurity has declined in cities such as Cancún and Chetumal, though he acknowledged that much work remains and that officials are drawing on experts and successful programs from elsewhere to bring improvements to the state.

“I would like it to improve more, because although it has been falling from 2017 to now, more is needed,” he said. “Look, 9.6 out of every 10 people thought it was unsafe; now 7 out of every 10 think it is unsafe. So we are heading downward.”