TIJUANA.- This week, it was announced that the Director of Police and Municipal Transit for Tijuana would be Patricia Margarita Sida Wilkes, the first ever woman to be named for this position.

The previous director, Reyes Montilla Lopez, recently tendered his resignation for personal reasons, after having only having served since the start of the current administration.

The government of the city of Tijuana is reiterating its commitment to serve in a more effective way, and is looking for mechanisms that enable it to better coordinate inter-institutionally, in order to continue to promote crime prevention and safeguard the integrity of Tijuana residents.

Patricia Margaraita Sida Wilkes will become the first ever woman to take the position of Director of Police and Municipal Transport in the city, and will be in charge of more than two thousand officers whom are mostly men. Sida Wilkes is a law graduate of the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, according to a report published by El Mexicano. She has served the Tijuana police force for a decade. With her naming, she joins a select group of only four women that are in lead positions in Municipal Police forces throughout Mexican cities.

Curiously enough, this year San Diego also named its first female Chief of Police, Shelley Zimmerman along with the election of the city’s new mayor. This year is one of radical changes for both police forces along the border and it will be interesting to see what differences these women will bring.

Brenda.Colon@sandiegored.com

borderzonie@gmail.com