Paquin Flores and his colleagues listen to weapons instruction by Israeli foreign security experts during a training class near Jalapa, a small town in Mexico's Tabasco state.During initial stages of building a police force, Jalapa’s mayor conducted medical tests and found that many officers were overweight and suffered from diabetes and hypertension. Some had not touched a gun in 10 years, he said. Thus, training became an immediate priority, along with buying patrol vehicles.

In a course taught by two freelance Israeli security experts, Jalapa police officers and recruits learn how to storm a bus during a hostage rescue training exercise. Whereas bus hijacking is not the most likely situation they may encounter near Jalapa, kidnapping does occur. Throughout the state, organized crime has proliferated. Wealthy agricultural producers and cattle ranchers are prominent targets.

Officers relish the opportunity to practice shooting with live fire during a course taught by freelance Israeli security experts, organized by the mayor of Jalapa, a small town in Mexico's Tabasco state. Upon taking office, the mayor's first priority was to build a trustworthy police force.

Municipal police savor night training exercises taught by Israeli foreign security experts. They said it was the first type of training like this (live fire inside houses) that they had ever experienced.

Police patrol isolated country roads surrounding Jalapa, Tabasco. The men wear masks to blend into the darkness and to conceal their identities. Whereas the criminals can hide, police on patrol are vulnerable targets for criminals who are known to attack police members and their families for revenge.

Jalapa police patrol along isolated country roads winding through ranches and rural communities. They spend most of their time breaking up drunken brawls and responding to domestic violence calls. However, they are also vulnerable to confrontations with organized criminals, since a primary southern transit route of drugs, arms and immigrants runs through Jalapa.

Maria José Pérez , 4, gazes curiously from the roadside, while police officers prepare to inspect a liquor store for suspicious activity. Jalapa’s police force was nearly nonexistent until a new mayor started to build a police force from scratch in 2010. Residents felt relieved but sometimes perplexed when new trucks filled with police would pass through their rural villages.

Silverio Perez stops by his home and receives a welcome home kiss from his wife after a long day of patrolling, and before beginning his subsequent night shift. Police are on duty for 24 hours straight and are worn out by the end of their shifts.

Police eat chicken tacos, one hour into their shift along Jalapa’s rural roads. The break allows them to eat and also save fuel by not driving. Due to lack of state funding for public security, Jalapa’s municipal police force scrapes by. They lack important job tools, like modern weapons, bulletproof vests, and night vision goggles. They are given only six bullets a day each.

Jalapa municipal police officer Francisco Javier Pérez helps his father-in-law manage a few cattle on his day off. Municipal police here work 24 hours on, and 48 off. Many Jalapa officers work on farms to supplement income. In order to transform Mexico’s police force, most argue that higher salaries are critical. Perez earns USD 650 per month.

Silverio Perez greets one of his three children upon arriving home after a 24-hour shift. In his effort to build a more competent and honest police force, Jalapa's mayor and police chief prefer to hire married men, not too young and not too old, they say, with strong family ties. The mayor believes organized crime is more likely to recruit younger men with less stability to be gang members.

Silverio Perez scans the road carefully during a night patrol. He likes the adrenaline of being an officer, but he also feels vulnerable. He and his colleagues have come across convoys of vehicles with armed passengers on isolated roads at night, but they let them pass, knowing that they are outgunned and don’t stand a chance against the cartels.