Mexico Police Professionalization Program

The purpose of this project is to improve the professionalism of Mexican law enforcement agencies by increasing the number of those agencies that are CALEA accredited.

Project Overview

Funding for this project comes from the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) in support of its mission to minimize the impact of international crime and illegal drugs on the United States and its citizens. A priority objective of INL’s Mexico Police Professionalization Program is to build criminal justice systems by institutionalizing the rule of law and strengthening law enforcement effectiveness in Mexico. Helping achieve that objective is the goal of this project through increasing the number of Mexican agencies that are in compliance with CALEA’s international standards. The ultimate goal of the project is to help 80 Mexican law enforcement agencies, public safety training academies and public safety communications centers to achieve and maintain CALEA Accreditation by the end of January 2024.

Methodology

In this unique collaboration with CALEA since late 2015, NPI has been driving professionalization in Mexico at the agency level where outcomes can be measured against internationally recognized standards. Achieving CALEA accreditation normally takes from two to three years after an agency signs an enrollment agreement with CALEA.  In this project, CALEA provided the same accreditation services it provides to every client agency while NPI provided additional in-person and remote technical assistance to project client agencies by subject matter experts (SMEs). At least one pair of SMEs were assigned to assist each project agency, and their work was supervised by an NPI Regional Manager.

Results

CALEA’s process leading to accreditation normally takes from 2-3 years following enrollment in the program.  The first Mexican agency was accepted into the project in August 2016. As of January 1, 2024, a total of 82 agencies were enrolled in the accreditation process. During the award period, 70 agencies achieved accreditation, with one agency receiving two awards—one for Tier 1 Accreditation and one for Advanced Accreditation. The agencies included 29 public safety training academies, 19 public safety communications centers, and 23 law enforcement agencies in 27 of Mexico’s states, including Mexico City.

Project Publications

Staff Contact(s)

Humberto Cardounel

Humberto Cardounel, Jr.

Senior Director of Training & Technical Assistance

Lorena Singer

Lorena Singer

Assistant Director

Media Contact

Media inquiries should be directed to our Communications team at:

media@policinginstitute.org
202-833-1460

More Information

Project Status: Completed

Project Period:  December 2015 - May 2024

Location(s): International

Staff Contact(s)

Humberto Cardounel

Humberto Cardounel, Jr.

Senior Director of Training & Technical Assistance

Lorena Singer

Lorena Singer

Assistant Director

Media Contact

 

Media inquiries should be directed to our Communications team at:

media@policinginstitute.org
202-833-1460