Law enforcement in Mexico
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Mexico law enforcement is distributed among three distinct powers of authority and jurisdiction: federal, state, and municipal. With the reform of former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of Mexico’s Federal Police, the agency was replaced with the new National Guard (Guardia Nacional — GN), which serves as a federal ‘military police.’ The main goal of the National Guard is to bring justice and peace to the country. The National Guard was created because some officers and its operations of the Federal Police were involved in organized crime, corruption, and similar issues.
Law Enforcement Instituations & Its Structure
[edit]Regarding federal law enforcement and defense, Mexico's government owns the Ministry of Security and Civilian Protection (Secretaría de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana - SSPC), the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of Navy (Secretaría de Marina - SEMAR). The Mexican Army, Air Force, and its branch of the National Guard are managed by the Ministry of National Defense, commonly known as ‘SEDENA’ in Mexico.
Furthermore, the National Public Security System (Sistema Nacional de Seguridad Pública), Service of Federal Protection (Servicio de Protección Federal - SPF), National Intelligence Centre (Centro Nacional de Inteligencia - CNI), and other law enforcement agencies are overseen by the Ministry of Security and Civilian Protection. Furthermore, the ministry collaborates with the Attorney General Office of the Republic (Fiscalía General de la República - FGR) to solve cases and impose justice.
State and municipal law enforcement is divided into groups/teams/units in the Governor or Mayor's Ministry of Public Safety (Secretaría de Seguridad Publica—SSP). State and municipal law enforcement possess transit, special operations, proximity, and investigation—so it is called in Mexico. This information is generalized and can vary depending on each agency structure.
Mexico's Struggle for Public Safety: The Role of Militarization and Law Enforcement Challenges
[edit]With the current drug war in Mexico, the government has struggled with maintaining public safety in Mexico. Mexico’s government efforts for militarization in states and municipalities has resulted positively in citizens’ security, however, homicides, robberies, and other criminal activities are still ongoing due to factors such as corruption, ineffective strategies, or simply lack of police presence, etc. However, there have been advances in public order and criminal justice in Mexico as a whole.
In some states and municipalities, police lack training or resources to combat organized crime. In certain cities and rural areas there is a shortage of police force. This necessitates federal authorities, such as the National Guard, to perform law enforcement duties as a substitute. Checkpoints in Mexico are very common, especially with the military. Police force often acquire tactical trucks for use in patrols and combat situations. Officers with tactical gear are also quite common due to high crime levels in some municipalities across the republic.
Police in states and municipalities are usually underpaid and in some cases, bribes are often seen with Mexican police officers. This is generalized and it doesn’t mean that it happens in all regions.
The Mexican Army and Navy frequently conduct joint patrols alongside the National Guard. This does not necessarily indicate the presence of terrorist activity or nearby cartels at that moment. Instead, this strategy is part of a broader effort to combat and eradicate the threat posed by organized crime and the terrorist activities associated with cartels in Mexico. These efforts are focused on maintaining security, preventing escalation, and demonstrating the government’s commitment to protecting its citizens.
Mexico’s relations regarding law enforcement with the United States include border protection and its Americans in Mexico territories. Additionally, the coordination and constant communication when arresting drug lords of Mexican cartels and preventing fentanyl from entering the United States. With President-elect Donald Trump, and the current Mexican President, Claudia Shembaum, are committed to manage migration and securing drugs.
Nevertheless, concerns have been raised among both Americans and Mexicans regarding Mexico's federal government’s new strategy of militarization. This includes the deployment of marines and the army to carry out police operations, a move that has sparked debates about its effectiveness and potential consequences. Critics argue that relying on the military for law enforcement could blur the lines between civil and military duties, potentially leading to human rights violations or an erosion of trust in local authorities. On the other hand, supporters view it as a necessary response to the escalating challenges posed by organized crime and violence, emphasizing the need for immediate and decisive action.
Mexico's Law Enforcement Branches
[edit]Investigations in Mexico play a vital role in addressing crime and maintaining order. The federal government operates the Criminal Investigations Agency (Agencia de Investigaciones Criminales - AIC), which functions under the Prosecutor General’s Office (Fiscalía General de la República - FGR). These law enforcement investigators, commonly referred to as “ministerial officers” (ministeriales), handle criminal and cartel-related investigations. Other specialized agencies within the Prosecutor General Office focus on specific areas. For example, the Prosecutor’s Office Specialized in Organized Crime Matters (Fiscalía Especializada en Materia de Delincuencia Organizada - FEMDO) targets high-profile organized crime cases. Additionally, some investigations in Mexico are reported to take an extended period to conclude, with studies indicating that certain cases are left unresolved. However, this issue is not universal and varies across different regions and situations.
Traffic enforcement is also a major issue for municipal and state governments. Although traffic laws are rarely enforced, the government is still dealing with them. Traffic law enforcement in Mexico is a division of the National Guard (a Mexican federal law enforcement agency), and it is called by a Mexican slang term "el transito". Their job is to manage traffic, respond to traffic collisions (vehicle crashes), and enforce the speed limit.
Organization
[edit]National Guard
[edit]Mexico maintains two primary federal law enforcement agencies: the National Guard, the uniformed paramilitary force; and the Policía Federal Ministerial, a civilian investigative force. Federal law enforcement officers in Mexico are sometimes referred to, especially by Americans and in media, by the slang term "Federales".
Ministerial Federal Police
[edit]The Ministerial Federal Police (Policía Federal Ministerial, PFM) is the premier investigative arm of the Attorney General of Mexico (FGR).
The PFM replaced the earlier Federal Investigations Agency (Agencia Federal de Investigación, AFI) after much of its force was transferred to the new Federal Police (PF).[1][2] The Federal Investigations Agency itself had replaced the notoriously corrupt Federal Judicial Police (Policía Judicial Federal, PJF) by the presidential decree of former President Vicente Fox on November 1, 2001. In May 2008, the previous acting chief of the AFI, Édgar Eusebio Millán Gómez, was assassinated.
Federal Police (former)
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The Federal Police (Policía Federal, PF) was the most prominent police force in Mexico. It was under the guidance of the Secretariat of the Interior (SEGOB), the PF was nominally a "preventive" police force with significant powers of investigation to prevent crime.
The PF replaced the Federal Preventive Police, which was created in 1999 combining several police forces into one, but lacking any investigative powers. When the PF was created a large number of investigators from the Federal Investigations Agency (AFI) were transferred and the AFI was replaced by the Ministerial Federal Police. In 2019, the PF was merged into part of the now reactivated National Guard.
Mexico City Police
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The Secretariat of Public Security of Mexico City (Secretaría de Seguridad Pública de la Ciudad de México – SSP), unlike the previous two, does not have national reach, but it does manage a combined force of over 90,000 [citation needed] officers stationed all over Mexico City. The SSP is charged with maintaining public order and safety all over Mexico City.
The investigative Judicial Police of Mexico City (Policía Judicial del ciudad de México – PJCM), are organized under the Office of the Attorney General of Mexico City (Procuraduría General de Justicia de la ciudad de México). The PGJDF maintains 16 precincts (delegaciones) with an estimated 3,500 judicial police, 1,100 investigating agents for prosecuting attorneys (agentes del ministerio público), and 941 experts or specialists (peritos).[citation needed]
The principal police force of Mexico City is the Protection and Transit Directorate, also known as the Traffic Police, which consists of some 32,000 officers[citation needed] organized into thirty-three precincts. It is the largest single law enforcement organization in Mexico.
The Bank and Industrial Police of the Ministry of Public Security of Mexico City provides specialized services for the protection, custody and supervision, not just banks and lending institutions, but also dependencies and pawnshops, among others.
Other
[edit]The Secretariat of Government (Secretaría de Gobernación) has immigration officers who, directed by the Mexican Immigration Service, have the right to detain suspected undocumented aliens and, under certain conditions, may deport them without formal deportation proceedings.
The Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit (Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público, Crédito) Customs officers are deployed at borders and at international airports to interdict contraband entering Mexico.
The Bank of Mexico (Banco de México) also operates its security division, which is charged with enforcing banking and monetary laws, including cases of counterfeiting, fraud, and money laundering.
State police
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Each of the country's thirty-one states maintains both preventive and judicial police called the State Judicial Police. State police are under the direction of the state's governor. The distinction between crimes investigated by State and Federal Judicial Police is not always clear. Most offenses come under the state authorities. Drug dealing, crimes against the government, and offences involving several jurisdictions are the responsibility of the federal police. The state-level preventive police forces are together perhaps 90,000-strong, and the state-level judicial police perhaps 25,000-strong.
State police (Spanish: Policia Estatal) forces operate from precinct stations, called delegaciones with each delegación having an average of 200 police officers attached to it. The ranking officer is known as a comandante, equivalent to a first captain in the military. Most of the remaining personnel hold the ranks of first sergeant, second sergeant, and corporal.
Municipal police
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Some of the municipalities of Mexico have their own preventive and municipal police forces (Policia Municipal), which are responsible for handling minor civil disturbances and traffic infractions. Of the 2,457 municipalities, 650 have no police forces. However, some of the municipal forces are large and important.
History
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There have historically been multiple government departments with varying levels of responsibility for law enforcement, a situation criticized by experts who suggest that all their functions should be merged into the Public Security Ministry.[3]
Private security
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Private security and private police have grown significantly in Mexico into the 21st century, in response to perceived government failures to provide security. Mexico holds third place worldwide in the purchase of security equipment. Between 1998 and 1999, security companies increased some 40 percent. The Mexican government has had serious problems in regulating these companies, most of which are illegitimate since they lack the necessary legal permits. It was estimated in 1999 that about 10,000 private security firms operated in Mexico, yet only 2,000 had some form of official permit.
According to official figures in December 2000, there were 2,984 private security companies registered with 153,885 employees. The inability to regulate or control these forces creates a potential security problem. Since many of these companies are unregulated, some will engage in criminality instead of (or as a means of) protecting their clients, thus exacerbating the problem of insecurity. According to a study by the Mexico City legislative assembly, in 1998 there were more private security guards than police. A substantial number of private security guards were formerly police officers or presently work as security guards while off-duty; these dynamics increase the likelihood of police corruption.
See also
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References
[edit]- ^ Méndez, Alfredo (2009-11-12). "Ratifican a Nicandra Castro en la PFM". La Jornada (in Spanish).
- ^ Torres, Ruben (2009-11-11). "Ratifican a Nicandra Castro". El Economista (in Spanish).
- ^ "On the trail of the traffickers". The Economist. 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2009-03-07.
