In Mexico, cartels are hunting down police at their homes
I'm reminded of this recent viral Youtube which depicts what is apparently a routine occurrence in South Africa: A professional gang, armed with heavy caliber weapons, executes a sophisticated highway ambush in an attempt to capture a vehicle loaded with cell phones:<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAvqDF3Wujc" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAvqDF3Wujc</a><p>I watched an interview with Leo Prinsloo, the star of the video.  He mentioned that although this incident went viral, it is actually a common occurrence in South Africa, and many gangs have ex-police and ex-military members.  Unsurprisingly the police don't provide effective protection against these professionalized gangs, creating the need for private security guards like Prinsloo.<p>In the US, we are used to thinking of "crime" as just another political issue.  But observing countries like Mexico and South Africa, where gangs and police forces have started to merge, has helped me realize that there are important nonlinear effects.<p>Once "crime" gets bad enough, the state begins to lose its monopoly on force, and I'm not sure it is possible to recover from that.  I'm starting to understand why people in the Philippines might support politicians such as Rodrigo Duterte who disregard due process--at a certain point, it becomes more important for the state security forces to win than for them to play fair.