Mexico standardizes the police career path and disciplinary regime

The Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System published this Wednesday, August 26, 2026, in the Official Gazette of the Federation (publication number 232/2026), two instruments that standardize the career and discipline of public security institutions across the three levels of government: the General Guidelines for the Professional Career Service and the General Guidelines of the Disciplinary Regime for Members of Public Security Institutions. Both documents were signed on August 13, 2026, by the head of the body, Master Marcela Figueroa Franco, and will enter into force the day following their publication.

The measure is based on Article 21, eleventh paragraph, subsection f), of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, as well as the General Law of the National Public Security System and the Regulations of the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System. The body, a decentralized agency of the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection, is empowered to issue agreements and guidelines aimed at the institutional strengthening of the corporations.

A comprehensive and mandatory system

The guidelines define the Professional Career Service as a comprehensive, mandatory, and permanent system that regulates the entire life cycle of police personnel. The text establishes the procedures that institutions of the three levels of government must follow:

• Recruitment, Selection, and Entry, with public calls approved by the collegiate body of each corporation.
• Registration in a standardized, comprehensive, and traceable electronic file.
• Professionalization, Individual Certification, permanence, and Promotion.
• Recognition, re-entry, and termination of service.

The norms incorporate measures to guarantee substantive equality and non-discrimination, including the issuance of exclusive recruitment processes for women and adjustments for those with caregiving responsibilities.

A standardized disciplinary regime

The second instrument regulates the Disciplinary Regime, defined as the set of norms and procedures that guarantee the fulfillment of obligations, ethical values, and respect for human rights. Each institution must issue its own regulation with catalogs of offenses classified as serious and non-serious, and with the following correctives and sanctions:

• Disciplinary Correctives: verbal warning, written warning, public apology, and community service.
• Disciplinary Sanctions: suspension from the exercise of functions without pay for up to thirty days, reparation of damages, and removal from office.

The sanctioning procedure separates the roles of Investigating Authority, Substantiating Authority, and Resolving Authority, and provides guarantees of due process, presumption of innocence, and a gender perspective, with specific attention to violence against women, harassment, and sexual harassment.

Harmonization Period

Public security institutions of the Federation, the federal entities, and the municipalities will have a period of twelve months, counted from the date of entry into force, to issue or harmonize their regulations regarding the professional career service and disciplinary regime, according to their budgetary sufficiency. The Executive Secretariat may provide technical support and consider compliance in the institutional accreditation and certification processes.

The publication unifies criteria that until now varied between corporations, which seeks to professionalize the police forces, guarantee transparent promotion processes, and strengthen citizen trust in the country’s public security institutions.

Source: Official Gazette of the Federation, number 232/2026, Wednesday, August 26, 2026, Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection, pp. 24-40 (General Guidelines for the Professional Career Service and General Guidelines of the Disciplinary Regime).