“What’s beneficial is that when one thing occurs, they go to open the folder and the following day request the video proof, as a result of [without an investigation file] they won’t be able to entry this data,” says Salvador Guerrero Chiprés, basic coordinator of C5 CDMX.
The truth is, he shared that they obtain round 160 requests per day from folks asking for the C5 recordings to current as proof in court docket.
In different phrases, if a mean of 640 investigation recordsdata are opened on daily basis in Mexico Metropolis (232,476 per yr, in accordance with knowledge from the 2024 Nationwide Census of State and Federal Prosecution of Justice), 25 p.c of those have a recording from authorities cameras as proof.
Though Mexico Metropolis’s video surveillance system is a device to forestall and punish crimes, the town nonetheless registers the very best crime charge within the nation, with 54,473 crimes per 100,000 inhabitants. In a survey carried out in 2025 by the Nationwide Institute of Statistics and Geography, 75.6 p.c of residents stated they didn’t really feel safe.
“The inhibition and prosecution of crime are complementary … All of the world literature signifies it, all the info from all the general public safety secretariats all over the world point out it, and within the case of Mexico Metropolis, it’s also apparent that there’s extra citizen confidence when there are extra cameras, whether or not public or non-public,” Guerrero Chiprés says.
Even supposing the nation’s capital is the most closely monitored metropolis within the continent, there’s nonetheless quite a lot of territory to cowl. Information shared by the pinnacle of C5 reveals that solely a 3rd of the town is roofed by these cameras.
“Nowhere on the planet does it occur [that there is surveillance in 100 percent of public spaces],” Guerrero Chiprés says. “That’s the reason there should be contribution from the entire group. If the group doesn’t take part with its personal cameras and in addition with its civic view, [security] is unimaginable, as a result of there are greater than 63,000 blocks within the metropolis, and we now have a presence in 20,000.”
Enter the Spy Bunker
Strategically positioned within the busiest areas with the very best crime charges, the video surveillance cameras function from Mexico Metropolis’s Command, Management, Computing, Communications, and Citizen Contact Middle (C5 CDMX), a bunker that works 24/7, and the place there’s a everlasting presence of representatives from 29 federal and native businesses, comparable to Mexico’s Nationwide Guard, the Navy, the Protection, and the Secretariats of Citizen Safety.
Though C5 is primarily recognized for video surveillance, this area brings collectively alternative ways to comply with up on complaints from residents.