Mexicali recorded more than 70 school burglaries and acts of vandalism during the academic year that just ended, making it the municipality with the highest count in Baja California. State Education Secretary Irma Martínez Manríquez confirmed the figure on July 4, warning that the risk of additional break-ins rises now that summer vacation has left campuses largely unstaffed.
Thieves have targeted computers, electrical wiring, air conditioning units, and workshop tools. The stolen items leave schools in worse condition when students and teachers return for the new academic year, often forcing delays while repairs are made.
Officials Request Increased Patrols
Martínez Manríquez said the Secretaría de Educación has formally asked Mexicali’s Municipal Public Safety Directorate to increase patrol frequency around school campuses. The request focuses on neighborhoods with a documented history of break-ins and vandalism.
The pattern is not new. Each summer and winter recess, state education officials coordinate with municipal police to reinforce security at empty schools. Despite those efforts, Mexicali continues to lead the state in school-related property crimes.
Residents Asked to Report Suspicious Activity
The education secretary called on residents living near schools to report any suspicious activity to local authorities during the summer break. Schools in Mexicali often sit in residential neighborhoods, and community vigilance has proven effective in deterring opportunistic theft in past years.
Mexicali’s extreme summer heat, which regularly exceeds 110°F (43°C), makes air conditioning units an especially costly target. Replacing stolen AC equipment can run into the tens of thousands of pesos per campus, and schools that lose their cooling systems face serious health risks for students when classes resume.
The broader crime picture in Mexicali has shown some improvement. Data from late 2025 indicated that armed and violent robberies in the municipality dropped by 46% compared to the previous year, while non-violent thefts fell by 22%. School burglaries, however, remain a persistent problem that those citywide gains have not fully addressed.
This story was first reported by The Baja Post and El Imparcial.