2.  Organized crime has increased considerably while having a negative effect on the State and population.  The operation mode of organized crime is complex and has several features that are intertwined in the territory of our countries. This leads to the making of operative and logistical bonds that are extremely difficult to identify.  Transnational organized crime is becoming a potential source of threats against national and international security due to its economic and corruption power, operations of global scope and higher capacity of threatening the social and political stability of the States.

3. In order to address this issue, the Mexican government has been taking the following measures:  Adapting the legislation addressing this issue.  Prosecuting and tackling effectively organized crime in Mexico.  Actively supporting an international regime of cooperation regarding this issue.

4.  Federal Organized Crime Act. November, 1996.  Purpose: Setting rules to investigate, prosecute and penalize organized crime.  Organized crime is commited when three or more people agree to carry out illict activities that are in theirselves or linked each other intended to commit some of the following crimes:  Terrorism, against health, forgery of currency, money laundering, arms trafficking, organs trafficking, trafficking in children, smuggling of migrants, assault and car theft, among others.  Addresing organized crime is also kept with in the law by means of several codes and special legislation.

5.  Regarding law prosecution, Federal government, through the Attorney General Office, takes actions of investigation and law prosecution on several organized crime illicits.  Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office (SIEDO) investigates and prosecutes organized crime illicits. SIEDO is integrated by 6 specialized units, which work with agents of the public prosecutor, backed up by Federal Police and experts.  Subprocuraduría de Control Regional, Procedimientos Penales y Amparo carries out operative tasks focused on investigating and prosecuting federal crimes by means of a regional deployment, and contributes gathering and systematizing information, which is useful to conduct investigations against organized crime.

6.  In order to strengthen intelligence, the Prosecutor Office has the National Center for Analysis, Planning and Information against Crime (CENAPI), which is on charge of planning and gathering information systems related to measures taken among several institutions of the Federal Executive Power, state and local governments taking part in the fight against crime and organized crime.

7.  Complementary instruments Protection of persons Concealment of witnesses`identity Benefit granting to collaborators Rewarding Anonymous information  Investigation Instruments with variants Restriction order, no more than 90 days Raid granting in short periods, 12 hours Broader arrestments, no more than 96 hours  Investigation Techniques Agent Infiltration Tapping of private communications Collaboration with justice

8.  Taking legal actions with or without people under arrest.  Seizure of target goods, instrument or crime product.  Seizure of goods belonging to a a member of an organized crime group or person who acts like owner.  SIEDO provides proofs required by the support coordination to the process or other Attorney General Offices in order to back up legal processes. Based on institutional capacities and usage of legal framework, the following measures are taken:

9.  Legal framework strengthening  Comprehensive approach  Strengthening coordination among institutions  Institutional capabilities strengthening  Society involvement in prevention and crime reporting  Materialization of international cooperation One of the priorities of President Calderon government has been to address organized crime taking into account the following elements:

10.  Strengthening mechanisms of information of exchange which allow the development of precise diagnosis about the country situation in order to move forward on planning action lines.  Guaranteeing an adecuate gathering, systematization and explotation of information related to the operation of criminal groups through regional deployment.  Strengthening institutional capabilities in order to reach an adecuate intelligence exchange and operative information to dismantle organized crime groups and their logistics. In the context of the National Strategy against Organized Crime, the Attorney General Office has established the following priorities:

11.  It is essential to focus on the following actions: 1.Establishing contact with liaisons to exchange strategic, tactical and operative information, which is useful to carry out investigations against organized crime; 2.Strenghtening appropiate, effective and efficient information exchange while taking into account needs and capabilities of each country; 3.Considering the homologation of legislation addressing organized crime in order to ensure a more efficient information exchange; 4.Setting up reliable mechanisms to exchange information on daily basis against organized crime; 5.Strenghtening comprehensive regional cooperation mechanisms intended to dismantle organized crime groups.

12.  Carring out a comprehensive assessment on the matter in the region.  Establishing liasons to exchange strategic and operative information, which will require an official appointment of each country, as well as the head and the focal point.  Suggesting strategic and operative exchange information mechanisms to assure security, reliability and promptness.  In order to attend the considerable logistic effort carried out, the proposals would be the following:

13.  It is the right moment to enhance coordinated efforts addressing organized crime in order to fulfill regulations regarded in international cooperation mechanisms.  Current globalization process not only gives development opportunities, but also poses new challenges to penal law such as achieving that borders were not an obstacle to investigate and prosecute criminals.

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