Cancun to Add New Police Officers

Mexico’s Quintana Roo state, which is home to such popular visitor destinations as Cancun, Riviera Maya, Tulum and Playa del Carmen, has announced that it will soon be increasing its police force by nearly 50 percent.

The state is in process of hiring an additional 600 police officers to add to the force, which is already 1,200 members strong.

According to Rodolfo del Angel Campos, the Secretary of Public Safety for Quintana Roo, some 300 police officers are already under evaluation while another 300 are in the pre-evaluation phase, according to the Riviera Maya News.

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“The recruitment is permanent and is done in the north of the state in Tulum, Playa del Carmen and Cancun,” he said.

The hiring of additional police comes as visitor destinations throughout the nation beef up their security forces in response to visitor concerns over escalating violence.

According to del Angel Campos, Quintana Roo implemented a new hiring system last year, which has allowed the state to hire better candidates.

Officials hope the new police members will be working by December but they will continue recruiting and hiring until 600 new officers are in place.,

To further alleviate traveler concerns, Quintana Roo has also recently implemented an app with a 24-hour visitor assistance feature. they are visiting Quintana Roo. The app is backed up by around the clock trained staff who speak a variety of different languages.

Despite visitor concerns about safety, tourism to Mexico is skyrocketing. From 2013 through 2017, the nation saw a 62 percent increase in visitor traffic, the fastest growth rate of any large global destination. As a result, Mexico became the sixth-most-visited country in the world in 2017. This year, Mexico expects to welcome 1.5 million new airline seats on direct flights into the country.