The Mexican survey focuses on a wide range of abuses: from common and "light" violations to less common and more "severe" ones, carried out against the population at large by law enforcement bodies.

When defining the content of the survey and questionnaire to be implemented, a consultation process was conducted by Fundar, Centre for Research and Analysis. This included meetings with other NGOs, the Mexico City Human Rights Commission, and selected experts in human rights, security issues, penal law and related fields. In-depth interviews with police officers, and with individuals who had experienced contact with relevant authorities, were also organised. From this consultation process, it emerged that abuses on behalf of public security forces in the Federal District materialise in numerous forms of law infringement and human rights violations, which extend from minor abuses to more severe practices.

The study thus covers a wide range of abuses: irregularities, abuses of power and acts of ill-treatment. Although the degree of severity of these abuses varies, they share a common characteristic: since they are all carried out by law enforcement agents, they weaken the police and justice systems and do not allow Mexico to reach higher levels of democracy, governance, and respect for human rights.

Although in the human rights vocabulary there are distinctions between the terms “irregularity,” “abuse of power” and “ill-treatment,” limits between one category and another are not always so clear and obvious. A major objective of the study was to obtain evidence-based information on the magnitude and characteristics of such abuses in order to better inform policy-making to enhance democracy, governance, and human rights issues. Thus, throughout the Mexican activity of the Metagora project, the terms “irregularities,” “abuses of power” and “ill-treatment” were considered as one aggregated category: abuses.

Working definition of abuses: Irregularities, abuses of power and ill-treatment

The study refers to two types of abuses: physical and non-physical. Whereas physical abuses are rather self-explanatory, and explicitly outlined in the study by a series of questions starting with “were you hit or physically harmed?”, non-physical abuses include “threats to hurt the person or relatives, threats to accuse someone on false grounds, to ask for money, to compel someone to confess or give information, to insult or humiliate someone, not to be assigned a legal representative when indicted,” etc. For further information, please consult the questionnaire.

During the preparatory phase of this study, international and national legislation and jurisprudence, as well as documents and studies published by various organisations and Human Rights Commissions (both national and of the Federal District) were studied. This information, along with a large consultation process with stakeholders and experts, contributed to the framing of a working definition of abuses, which include irregularities, abuses of power and ill-treatment.

Are considered abuses:

Not allowing a person under arrest or judicial process to exercise his/her rights: i.e., not being allowed to make a phone call to family members or a lawyer, not informing a person of the reasons for his/her detention or of the charges against him/her, not allowing the person to receive medical attention when needed, not allowing a person to include as much proof as desired in his/her file, exerting pressure on witnesses, etc.

When perpetrated by the authority (public agents): extortion, theft, insults, intimidation, all kinds of threats, discrimination, retaining documents as a means of pressure, not accepting a person’s deposition or right to report a crime, unlawful entry, arbitrary detention, forced or involuntary disappearance of persons, homicide, injuries and acts of torture.

Conditions of detention, when relevant: i.e., enquiring whether detention cells are small or overpopulated, prisoners are kept in prolonged solitary confinement, conditions are unhygienic, medical facilities are poor, distribution of food is irregular, prisoners are denied all privacy, detainees are not separated according to their legal status, etc.

Are NOT considered abuses:

Deprivation of liberty as a result of a legal sanction, abuses carried out by a person other than a public agent, such as cases of domestic violence, and/or failures on behalf of the authorities in the administration of justice.