Mexican Student Becomes Police Chief, No One Else Will

A 20 year-old criminology student became the police chief in a Mexican town Wednesday after no one else would accept the job — since no one else would take the job due to fear of drug-related violence. She’s also the mother to a young son.

Marisol Valles became the police chief of Praxedis Guadalupe Guerrero, Chihuahua, which is outside of Ciudad Juárez, and spent her first day visiting residents and schools. She will be in charge of 19 police officers — nine of them women — in a town of about 10,000.

When asked if she was afraid, she was quoted as saying:

“We’re all afraid in Mexico now. We can’t let fear beat us. I took the risk because I want my son to live in a different community to the one we have today. I want people to be able to go out without fear, as it was before.”