U.S. callers can use tip hotline for Mexican crimes

Mexican government officials announced a new toll-free hotline yesterday that will allow crime victims or witnesses to crimes in Baja California to call from the United States with anonymous tips for law enforcement in Mexico.

The hotline, at (866) 201-5060, is a service of the Baja California state government and is running. According to Alberto Díaz González, a spokesman for the Mexican consulate in San Diego, caller identification will be blocked, so there will be no record of who calls. No personal information will be taken, he said, only the caller's statement.

According to a government leaflet, the hotline will be staffed 24 hours a day and may be dialed toll-free from anywhere in the United States, including Hawaii and Alaska, as well as from Puerto Rico.