Mexico City: Most Surveilled City in the Americas
▼ Summary
– People must open an investigation file to access C5 video evidence, with 160 daily requests for recordings submitted as court evidence.
– 25% of Mexico City’s 640 daily investigation files include government camera footage as evidence.
– Despite having the continent’s most extensive surveillance system, Mexico City still has the country’s highest crime rate and low public security perception.
– Only one-third of the city is covered by surveillance cameras, requiring community participation with private cameras for broader security coverage.
– The C5 CDMX bunker operates 24/7 with 29 agencies coordinating video surveillance and other complaint follow-up methods.
Mexico City has earned the distinction of being the most surveilled urban area in the Americas, yet this extensive network of cameras coexists with the city’s persistently high crime rates. Salvador Guerrero Chiprés, general coordinator of C5 CDMX, explains that individuals must first open an official investigation file before they can request video evidence. Without that formal step, access to the recordings is not permitted.
Authorities receive approximately 160 daily requests from citizens seeking C5 footage to use as evidence in legal proceedings. Considering that an average of 640 investigation files are initiated each day in Mexico City, totaling 232,476 annually according to 2024 justice prosecution data, this means roughly one-quarter of all cases include video evidence captured by government cameras.
While the surveillance system is designed as a tool for crime prevention and prosecution, Mexico City continues to report the highest crime rate nationwide, with 54,473 offenses per 100,000 residents. A 2025 survey conducted by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography revealed that 75.6 percent of residents do not feel safe in the city.
Guerrero Chiprés emphasizes that crime deterrence and prosecution work hand in hand. He points to international public security data and global literature, noting that the presence of cameras, whether public or private, correlates with increased citizen confidence. Despite this, the capital’s surveillance coverage remains incomplete. The head of C5 shared that cameras currently monitor only one-third of the city’s territory.
Complete surveillance of all public spaces does not exist anywhere in the world, according to Guerrero Chiprés. He stresses that community participation is essential, both through private camera systems and civic vigilance. With more than 63,000 city blocks and official cameras present in only 20,000, he asserts that security cannot be achieved without collective contribution.
Operating around the clock from a fortified bunker known as the Command, Control, Computing, Communications, and Citizen Contact Center (C5 CDMX), the video surveillance network focuses on strategic locations with high crime rates and heavy foot traffic. This facility maintains a continuous presence of representatives from 29 federal and local agencies, including Mexico’s National Guard, the Navy, the Defense Department, and various Citizen Security Secretariats. Although C5 is widely recognized for its video monitoring operations, the center also integrates multiple channels for tracking and responding to resident complaints.
(Source: Wired)