Police and Institutional Legitimacy: The Case of Michoacán, México.

This article analyzes the legitimacy of the municipal and state police forces according to a qualitative study which took place in the state of Michoacan, Mexico. The study suggests that the emergence of the violence generated by organized crime in the last years has taken away attention from the importance of implementing profound reforms in the police forces in the country and the systems of judicial administration. The absence of reforms and consensus about the restructuring of the state and municipal police forces is a clear demonstration of a lack of political desire maintained by diverse Mexican social actors to confront the profound causes of the lack of public security in Mexico. The violent results show a clear lack of confidence of the society towards the state organs of justice and the urgent need to restructure police forces within the already articulated strategy of fighting crime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]