Finally, Giuliani: celebrated crimebuster doesn't disappoint, pays D.F. surprise visit.

When Rudolph Giuliani suddenly turned up at the Toluca airport in the early hours of Jan. 14 and headed directly to the rough Mexico City neighborhoods of Tepito and Buenos Aires, pundits finally accepted the former New York mayor was serious about advising the capital's cops on crime busting.

At last, more than three months after the Mexico City government announced it had hired the Giuliani Group as a special adviser to the capital's police force, the New Yorker credited with slashing crime rates in the Big Apple showed up. During the long wait for Giuliani, analysts had suggested the deal was off, pointing to reports Mexico City Police Chief Marcelo Ebrard had failed to persuade businessmen to cough up the consultant's 4.3 million-dollar fee.

BRUSHING ASIDE RUMORS

Furthermore, rumors abounded Giuliani would prefer to spend his time as the well-paid chairman of embattled telecommunications giant WorldCom or did not want to come out of fear of being kidnapped by Colombian rebels. But in a news conference in the capital's Historic Center, a relaxed Giuliani brushed aside gossip that guerrillas wanted to nab him in Mexico City.

"Do I look concerned?" he said, smiling.

Moreover, Giuliani revealed members of his consulting firm had been working quietly in Mexico for several months, meeting with officials and gathering statistics. "We are now at the stage of evaluating. Then we'll move on to the stage of recommendations," he said.

DOUBTING TOMAS 

Hiring the Giuliani Group has been controversial. Critics have wondered how a Republican grin go could possibly handle Latin America's largest city and its almost 20 million inhabitants. In Giuliani's New York, crime rates were slashed by 65 percent during his administration using the philosophy of "broken windows," or cracking down on minor offences to discourage lawlessness. Analysts say this is impractical in Mexico where millions of squatters, street vendors and peddlers live and work outside of the law. However, Giuliani repeatedly has expressed confidence that the techniques that worked in New York can be adapted to the local environment.

"Whatever the differences in culture and law and background, the objectives of all decent societies are exactly the same, and that is the protection and safety of people, which is a fundamental human right," he said.

While capital residents are skeptical about how effective Giuliani might be, they are crying out for something to be done to make the city safer.

OFFERING UP SUGGESTIONS

Mexico City crime rates exploded in the mid-1990s and have remained high since, with around 500 offenses reported daily. And analysts estimate two-thirds of crimes are never reported, as the public considers the police corrupt and inefficient. Giuliani said he had first-hand experience with police corruption in New York. His team is analyzing ways to weed Out graft in Mexico, including raising police officer's pitiful wages from starting salaries of around 4,000 pesos per month. Despite the highly publicized commentary, the New Yorker recognized that he is only a consultant and the power to change anything ultimately lies with city lawmakers.

"Our purpose is to evaluate the criminal justice system and make recommendations. [Legislators] have to decide which recommendations fit and which ones don't," he said. Pundits say the most important development to come out of Giuliani's affair with Mexico could be the establishment of a CompStat network--a computer statistics system developed in New York to pinpoint criminal activity by type and area.

PICKPOCKET NEIGHBORHOOD

Former New York City Police Chief Bernard Kerik, one of Giuliani's top aides, said the use of advanced statistical information is a powerful weapon against all types of crimes. "Kidnapping is not common in New York. But for crimes such as drug trafficking, there is a need to have solid information on it," he said.

Jon French, managing director in Mexico of security consultants IPSA International, said that a ComStat system might make the police more accountable.

"The system would put more pressure on station supervisors to reduce crime in their districts," French told BUSINESS MEXICO. However, French questioned the usefulness of Giuliani's "reality" tour of Mexico City ghettos. "It was more PR than substance. It's very hard to appreciate reality in these neighborhoods when you are surrounded by security guards."

Giuliani drove through the crime-infested dens of Tepito and Buenos Aires accompanied by 12 armored vehicles at 6 a.m. when most villains are probably tucked up in bed. He claimed he would have preferred to tour Mexico City's neighborhoods unprotected, but said it simply wasn't possible.

"I wish I could have walked around alone and talked with people," he said. "But even if I had no security guards, there would be a hundred television cameras following me."

loan Grillo is a Mexico City-based freelance writer.