News Summary for December 5th, 2008

++ The Chamber of Deputies approved the new General Law for the National Public Security System that establishes new coordination methods and redistributes responsibilities amongst the three levels of government in the fight against crime.

The Lower House of Congress also endorsed legal reforms to create a registry of cellular telephone users with the aim of avoiding that the phones be used in crimes such as extortion and kidnapping.

++ The Senate approved a package of reforms to control the abuse on the part of banks through financial services such as charging excessive commissions and granting pre-approved credit cards, in other words, predatory credit practices.

++ The Public Security Secretariat appointed Division General Javier del Real Magallanes, as deputy secretary of Police Strategy and Intelligence, taking over from Facundo Rosas Rosas, who will be in charge of the department of Prevention, Outreach and Human Rights.

++ A federal judge extended the 40-day temporary detainment ordered for Edgar Enrique Bayardo del Villar, former deputy director of crime investigations of the Federal Preventive Police, who is under investigation on suspicion he was part of a protection network for the Sinaloa cartel.

++ President Felipe Calderón said his government is fighting to definitively eradicate corruption from public office, so he called on public sector employees to back this demand in society itself.

++ Deputy human rights attorney general at the Attorney General’s Office Juan de Dios Castro, described as demagoguery a bill approved by Coahuila state lawmakers to apply the death penalty to kidnappers who murder their victims.

++ The Federal District Legislative Assembly approved a law to chop off an hour of the time bars and discotheques can sell food and alcoholic beverages.