Mexico City, May 17 (IANS/EFE): A general in the Mexican army was sworn-in Thursday as public safety secretary in the western state of Michoacan, which is home to several powerful criminal organizations and a growing vigilante movement.

Maj. Gen. Alberto Reyes Vaca will have command of the state police and of federal security forces stationed in Michoacan.

The state's new public safety chief vowed to confront the challenges facing Michoacan and to ensure that the forces under his direction act within the law.

He called on citizens to develop a culture of reporting crimes, insisting that the best mechanism "to inhibit crime is social rejection of illegality".

Besides better police, "security requires better parents, responsible teachers and honest citizens who put their trust in social co-responsibility", Reyes Vaca said.

Michoacan is wracked by clashes among criminal organizations and between the gangsters and armed self-defense groups.