TIJUANA – Baja California will have $70 million this year to spend on security, a 12 per cent increase from 2011, according to Public Safety Secretary Daniel de la Rosa.

The funds will be used to improve law enforcement agencies, the state's justice system and other infrastructure, De la Rosa said in a statement in recent days.

He said the funds, primarily provided by the federal government, increased $7.6 million from last year's budget.

The state will have unprecedented levels of federal, state and municipal resources at its disposal to reinforce security in the five municipalities, he stressed.

"This will help us meet our goal of cutting crime by at least five per cent statewide," he said.

According to the secretary, the increased funding is the result of the talks Baja California Gov. José Guadalupe Osuna has had with President Felipe Calderón underscoring the good results the state has achieved on the crime front.

The president and state officials, as well as some national news media, have presented "Baja California's security model" an example for other states to follow after high-profile crimes decreased significantly, particularly during 2011.

However, authorities in Baja California acknowledge that even as shootouts and kidnappings decreased

in the last two years, common crimes, such as home burglaries and auto theft, went up.

In addition, corruption continues to be a problem inside law enforcement agencies, as reports frequently surface linking officers and support personnel to crime. Just last week, the state Attorney General's

Office announced that three investigators were themselves being investigated after $27,000 disappeared from an evidence locker.

De la Rosa said that around $27.6 million of the security budget will go to the municipal police

departments to buy equipment and provide additional support for their officers.

Tijuana and Mexicali will each receive $9.5 million, Ensenada about $6.7 million, and Tecate and Rosarito Beach each about $991,000.

De la Rosa said that from two separate federal fund the state received $28.2 million and $9.2 million, which also will go to the police departments of the five cities.

These funds will be used to continue the transformation of law enforcement in the state, which has as a goal to a have a single police agency statewide instead of the individual municipal departments. The objective is to improve the professionalization of the rank and file, increase efficiency and eliminate corruption.

The state itself will spend an additional $5 million toward that effort to create an elite force that leads the country.

"You can be sure that our commitment is to continue to provide the security that the residents deserve," De la Rosa said.

omar.millan@sandiegored.com