ZAPATA, Tex. (KGNS) – A new study by a doctoral student at Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) and an associate professor of Criminal Justice highlights criminal activity in the South Texas border town of Zapata.
Zapata County Judge Joe Rathmell described the town as generally peaceful. “Raising a family here in Zapata is certainly something that we enjoy and certainly something I would consider a safe community to raise your kids in,” Rathmell said. However, he acknowledged that crimes do occur. “As a county judge, I do handle misdemeanors, so usually what I see in my court are drug abuse, minimal drug abuse, some assaults, and some thefts that occur in our community.”
With a population of nearly 14,000 and its location on the southern border, Rathmell noted that Zapata is not immune to issues seen in other border areas. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there is some human smuggling or drug smuggling in our county. Is it widespread or of immediate concern in our community? I think we have several law enforcement agencies that service our area.”
Doctoral student Carlos Alvarez and Associate Professor Dr. Daniel Scott conducted the study by collecting data from the Zapata County Sheriff’s Office and reviewing border gang issues. Alvarez explained their findings: “We found as a border there are rural areas and far more populated urban-suburban areas. So, we found differences based on geographic placements along the Texas-Mexico border. In rural areas, we found more migrant smuggling and human smuggling, while more populated areas had drug crimes and drug trafficking.”
Both Alvarez and Dr. Scott believe that organized crime in smaller border communities, like Zapata, is often overlooked. Dr. Scott said, “Carlos was able to get access to data to look at this, which is crucial and huge for this project and this study. You see a lot of times when it comes to gang problems or issues, it is focused on Chicago and L.A. because they have that population and the resources. Here we get creative to kind of address and analyze these issues more efficiently.”
Alvarez, who has eight years of law enforcement experience with the Texas Department of Public Safety, believes the study’s findings are important for other agencies. “We hope that this will allow policymakers or leaders in our community to understand these types of border crimes and geographic placements. This will allow more resources to help our communities that are maybe underprivileged or based on location rural areas that may require more security,” Alvarez said.
Dr. Scott and Alvarez recently presented their research at the EuroGang Conference held at the University of Colorado Boulder.
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