Bloomberg.com: Latin America

Read More Here: "Aug. 12 (Bloomberg) -- The killing of four local law enforcement chiefs in Mexico yesterday highlights the challenge President Felipe Calderon faces as he tries to stamp out police corruption and bolster his fight against organized crime."

More than 270 Mexican police officers have been killed this year, including the assassinations in Michoacan, Chihuahua, Quintana Roo and the State of Mexico yesterday, newspaper Milenio reported. Most of the violence is tied to drug gangs that are battling for control of lucrative shipping routes to the U.S.

Calderon pledged to root out police corruption during appearances over the past week after public outrage over the kidnapping and slaying of the 14-year-old son of a businessman, allegedly at the hands of police. Ending police involvement with organized crime is difficult because of low salaries and threats to the lives of honest cops, said Jorge Chabat, a professor at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching in Mexico City.

``It's hard to fight narco corruption because police have positive incentives -- money -- and also negative incentives - they'll kill you if you don't go along,'' Chabat said.

Yesterday, Calderon said Mexican society demands an end to police corruption while interior Minister Juan Camilo Mourino called on local authorities to sign an accord to clean up police forces.

``They're not going to create a police force like Scotland Yard,'' Chabat said, referring to the headquarters of the British police force in London. ``But they can make it a lot better than it is now.''

Marti Kidnapping

Last week, Calderon proposed life sentences for policemen convicted of kidnapping after prosecutors said officers were involved in the abduction and killing of Fernando Marti, the son of Alejandro Marti, founder of sporting goods retailer Grupo Marti SAB.

Marti's body was discovered in the trunk of a car in southern Mexico City on Aug. 1, almost two months after the boy, his driver and bodyguard were stopped at a fake police checkpoint. The boy's family paid a ransom to the kidnappers before he was found dead.

Calderon's proposal is symbolic and won't reduce crime, said John Bailey, who directs Georgetown University's Mexico project.

``It's kind of hollow,'' Bailey said in a telephone interview from Washington. ``When you can't do something concrete, you turn to symbols.''