Crime Data and Spillover Violence along the Southwest Border

Christopher Wilson, AL DÍA: News and Analysis from Mexico Institute
October 14, 2011

As organized crime-related violence has increased in northern Mexico, so has the heated rhetoric regarding the U.S. side of the border. The title of National Geographic’s program, Border Wars, exemplifies the sentiment, echoed by several politicians, that the border region is lawless and dangerous. For residents of the U.S. border region, thankfully, the reality is anything but that.

In fact, as violent crime surged in parts of Mexico, the U.S. border region became safer. While in Mexico the murder rate climbed 29% between 2005 and 2010, it declined 24% in the U.S. border states. This suggests that despite a smattering of violent incidents perpetrated by members of Mexican criminal groups in the United States, widespread “spillover violence” has not occurred.[…]

Read the full article:
http://mexicoinstitute.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/border-violence-brief-10-14-2011.pdf