In Belvedere, Montevideo, a 28-year-old criminal decided to attempt to rob a delivery driver. Bad choice: the worker turned out to be a police officer who, forced to work extra hours as a delivery driver due to insufficient wages, repelled the attack with his weapon.
The criminal sustained multiple gunshot wounds and ended up seriously injured —“face like a sieve,” according to descriptions of the incident— before being apprehended a few blocks away. The police officer acted in legitimate self-defense and saved his life.
This is the predictable result of a society where the State does not pay decently those who risk their lives every day and, at the same time, creates conditions for crime to proliferate.
Shameful Wages
The wages of the National Police are a chronic scandal. A rank-and-file officer or non-commissioned officer must supplement their income with side jobs —delivery, private security, whatever comes up— because the base salary does not even cover the basic needs of a family.
While primary public spending hovers around 29% of GDP, with pensions, transfers, and inflated bureaucracy absorbing resources, security forces are left behind.
The result is obvious: tired, demotivated police officers forced to expose themselves in secondary jobs, where they are easy prey for criminals who know that many are armed but exhausted.
This case is not isolated. More and more officers end up working off-duty in low-profile tasks, with their uniforms put away and vulnerability on full display. The State spends fortunes on clientelism and current spending but does not invest enough in those who must guarantee the legitimate monopoly of force.
Crime Unleashed by Soft Policies
The criminal acted with the impunity generated by a culture of tolerance. Robberies, thefts, and settling of scores have increased in Montevideo and the interior. Official data shows more drug seizures, but also more street violence.
When the message from above is lukewarm —little tough love, emphasis on the “rights” of the criminal, and scant reward for the police— the marginalized become emboldened. They attempt to rob anyone, even an armed individual who turns out to be a police officer.
In this episode, the bullet was the natural response of someone who could not wait for a patrol car to arrive. Thank God the police officer reacted in time. But how many ordinary delivery drivers, without a weapon or training, end up hospitalized or worse?
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The “excellent news” is that, this time, the aggressor paid the immediate price. The bad news is that this is news: it reveals the daily failure of the system.
What is Seen and What is Not Seen
The wounded and detained criminal is seen. The police officer who must do delivery to make ends meet, exposing himself unnecessarily, is not seen. The fear of thousands of Montevideans who avoid certain areas is not seen.
The investment that flees to countries where the police are better paid and more supported is not seen. The economic growth stunted by insecurity that drives away tourism, commerce, and capital is not seen.
A giant State that spends uncontrollably on unproductive sectors, while leaving its guardians of order unprotected and poorly paid, generates exactly this type of scene: police officers delivering packages shot in the middle of the street.
The solution is not more indiscriminate spending, but reallocating priorities: decent wages for the Police, real tough measures against crime, and an end to the culture of impunity.
This case should embarrass the government. A police officer working as a delivery driver is not an “entrepreneur”; it is a symptom of a State that does not fulfill the basics. And a criminal shot in the face is the direct consequence of allowing the streets to become a jungle.
Excellent news that the good guy won this time. But it is a national shame that he has to risk his life delivering orders because the salary is not enough. Time to wake up: more real support for the Police, less tolerance for crime. Or we will continue counting “excellent news” that are actually red alarms.
