PAN proposes metal detectors in bars and hotels to boost security

A local deputy from the PAN party, Olivia Garza, has proposed equipping bars, restaurants, and hotels in high-crime zones of Mexico City with metal detectors to bolster public safety. The initiative aims to ensure patrons' security by preventing weapons from entering these establishments.

Garza presented a proposal to amend the Law of Commercial Establishments during a session of the Permanent Commission of the Congress of CDMX. The amendment would require businesses with a capacity exceeding 40 people, or those located in areas identified as having high criminal activity by the Secretariat of Citizen Security and the Administrative Verification Institute, to install metal detector arches or portable detectors at each entrance. These businesses would also need to implement security systems and employ trained personnel according to official guidelines.

Garza pointed out that the current law already mandates such security measures for certain types of businesses, but compliance has been weak, with many provisions becoming "dead letter." She argued that reinforcing these regulations and expanding their application is necessary given the current reality of violence. "A metal detector could be the difference between stopping a weapon at the entrance or allowing it to reach a table and end in tragedy," she stated, referencing a past incident at a bar in Álvaro Obregón where a brawl escalated into a shootout, resulting in four deaths.

While acknowledging that public security is the government's responsibility, Garza emphasized that establishments also share a duty to their customers and employees. They must guarantee minimal conditions for safe coexistence within their premises. "A fight inside an establishment should not end in a shootout. The problem doesn't start when someone shoots; it starts when we allow an armed person to enter a place where there are families, young people, and workers," she asserted.