Cancun Expands Its C5 Surveillance System To Help Protect Tourists

Last Updated 3 years ago

More Than 100 Cancun Businesses Connect With The Police Surveillance System

More than one hundred Cancun companies have already contributed their data to the Quintana Roo police force’s C5 security system. The program is only set to grow further in the near future.

The C5 security system is an intertwined surveillance network set up by the police force in Cancun. The force already installed over one thousand five hundred individual cameras across the city in strategic points to help counteract the problems the city has been facing.

But now, the program has been expanded with private businesses opening their own CCTV for police use. Any business in the area is encouraged to join the program although they are not being forced. It is purely voluntary.

Some have suggested that it may intrude on the privacy of their customers and employees, but over a hundred have already offered up their services. The police have stressed that the program is only for security purposes and that no rights will be infringed upon.

According to the police, the majority of the volunteer businesses have been hotels in the major tourist zones as well as some downtown areas, while shopping malls have also been eager to have their entrances and exits monitored more closely.

Violence in the state has risen sharply as Quintana Roo’s value to organized crime has grown. Multiple gangs now compete for territory in Tulum and Cancun resulting in several high-profile incidents that have placed tourists and innocent locals in the middle of harm’s way.

Just last week, five bars in Downtown Cancun were attacked simultaneously. Two of the bars had multiple armed assailants unload their weapons at unsuspecting workers and tourists. One particular shocking video saw the security guard of one of the bars executed at point-blank range. Few videos have summed up the brutal nature of those involved in the gangs.

Unfortunately, similar attacks have been going on since the middle of 2021, prompting the arrival of a newly formed branch of the national guard named the Tourist Security Battalion. The armed battalion patrol the beaches and hotel zones in an effort to reduce any potential criminal activity. The C5 force was also created around this time with the intention of speeding up reaction times and helping with analysis after crimes occur.

It’s hoped that as the surveillance system grows, the responses from the police and national guard will cease to be reactionary and may be able to stop attacks or other crimes from happening.

Cancun’s popularity hasn’t waned in the face of the violence, partly due to the fact that tourists rarely come into the line of sight of the gangs. But the violence is increasing steadily, and with every attack, there is the possibility for a tourist to get hurt.

Sadly, the towns’ value to the gangs stems from tourists and their predisposition to look for drugs when they arrive in Cancun. Obviously, this does apply to the majority of visitors but the sheer volume of tourists means that Cancun and Tulum are extremely valuable.

The government is taking steps to warn tourists of the consequences of drug use in the state, as many have the incorrect view that drugs are legal or that police turn a blind eye to their use. This is most certainly not the case and any tourists caught in possession, selling, or buying drugs could face multiple years in prison.

Those traveling to Cancun in the near future should do their part to remain responsible tourists and help keep the state safe for future visitors and generations. The more problems that are solved at the source, the less violence will be used in the future.

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