TIJUANA.- No major incidents and crimes were reported during New Year's festivities in Tijuana, reported the city's police department, who added that Christmas Eve and Day were similarly calm.

Just as municipal authorities had planned, 22 checkpoints in 11 districts, with 256 officers on duty and 80 police cars were placed around this city of more than 1.5 million inhabitants after 6:00 p.m., said Alejandro Lares Valladares, head of the Municipal Public Safety Ministry (SSPM in Spanish).

There were a total of 600 officers and guards that safeguarded the population, in order to ensure people a worry-free Christmas and New Year's.

He also thanked residents for their help in avoiding any major problems, as most incidents simply had to do with some fights brought on by drinking too much alcohol or incidents with fireworks and firecrackers.

[p]Moreover, he believes citizens heeded calls from both mayor Jorge Astiazarán Orci and the SSPM to celebrate in a responsible manner during the Holidays.

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Several inspection posts were setup by the police department, meant to prevent incidents of drivers under the influence, but in the end they made no arrest and those few who were caught having one-too-many drinks, were placed under surveillance and measures were taken to prevent them from being a threat to other drivers (usually, their car is impounded).

The majority of calls to police were for supposed shots fired into the air during the night and early morning of December 31st and January 1st, which turned out to be fireworks or firecrackers; frequent calls also had to do with loud music, cars placed in front of a residence's entrance or double parked.

There were also some domestic disputes between families and neighbors after 3:00 a.m., mostly due to too much drinking.

Director Lares Valladares emphasized the overall population's "good behavior" during those nights, as even with all those public safety precautions carried out by the police, it's the city's residents and their actions that truly prevent tragedies from happening.

"It is a satisfying result, because it means that the sacrifice, of not being with their family, hundreds of men and women from the city's police department made, was not in vain, and their fellow citizens could enjoy their nights without any problems", noted the SSPM director.

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