Detention Without Charge now available!

Year 2015

Justice in Mexico is pleased to announce the publication of Detention Without Charge, a special report provides a detailed assessment of the use of arraigo as a prosecutorial mechanism in Mexico, as national and international organizations have increasingly questioned the practice. Evidence collected for this report suggests that detention without charge is a poor substitute for due process protections that help to ensure the integrity and legitimacy of police and prosecutorial investigations. Arraigo, is a form of preventive detention that allows for imprisonment without formal charges for up to 80 days. This investigative tool is presently authorized under Article 16 of the Mexican Constitution as amended in the 2008 reforms that underpin Mexico’s ongoing transition to...

Drug Violence in Mexico: Data and Analysis Through 2013 

Year 2014

Kimberly Heinle, Octavio Rodríguez Ferreira, and David A. Shirk. Apr. 2014 This year’s study builds on past findings and seeks to provide new insights into Mexico’s recent security situation. The authors draw on the latest available data from multiple sources, with a primary emphasis on the first year in office for Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018). 2014_DVM

The Way of the Gun: Estimating Firearms Traffic Across the U.S.-Mexico Border 

Year 2013

Topher McDougal, David A. Shirk, Robert Muggah, and John Patterson March 2013 "The Way of the Gun" is a co-authored report that uses a unique econometric approach to estimate the demand for firearms in Mexico by examining the distribution of retail gun distributors throughout the United States. Based on the heavy concentration of gun dealers along the border, the authors are able to estimate a total demand for trafficking across the border, both in terms of firearms and dollar sales for the firearms industry. 2013_WayoftheGun

Drug Violence in Mexico: Data and Analysis Through 2012 

Year 2013

Cory Molzahn, Octavio Rodríguez Ferreira and David A. Shirk February 2013 This is the fourth of a series of reports that the Justice in Mexico Project has put together each year to compile the latest available data and analysis to evaluate these challenges. These reports have been especially intended to inform a U.S. audience, since news media coverage of Mexico in the United States tends to be fleeting and gravitates toward sporadic, sensationalistic incidents, rather than broader and longer term trends. 2013_DVM

Armed With Impunity: Curbing Military Human Rights Abuses in Mexico

Year 2012

Catherine Daly, Kimberly Heinle, and David A. Shirk  July 2012 The Mexican military has played a constantly expanding role in efforts to combat drug trafficking organizations, and to provide domestic security more generally. But the massive deployment of troops increased civilian exposure and vulnerability to abuses by military personnel. This report examines Mexico's current security context, presents original data and analysis on military human abuses, and discusses possible remedies to protect against such abuses in the future. 2012_ARMEDWITHIMPUNITY

Drug Violence in Mexico: Data and Analysis Through 2011 

Year 2012

Cory Molzahn, Viridiana Ríos and David A. Shirk  March 2012 In the third annual special report on drug violence in Mexico, the authors found that, by the end of 2011, there were over 50,000 organized crime murders in Mexico documented by Mexican government and media sources. Such violence grew less sharply in 2011 than in the previous year, but now causes over half of all homicides and has spread to new states and municipalities throughout Mexico. 2012_DVM

Diagnóstico Integral de la Policía Municipal de Ciudad Juárez

Year 2011

Diagnóstico Integral de la Policía Municipal de Ciudad Juárez Marcos Pablo Moloeznik, Maria Eugenia Suárez de Garay, and David A. Shirk  September 2011 The  full report in Spanish of the Justiciabarómetro survey of Ciudad Juárez builds on the findings of a similar study conducted one year earlier in Guadalajara. This study surveyed 75% of the 3,146 municipal police officers serving the roughly 1.3 million inhabitants of Ciudad Juárez. The report can be accessed in Spanish here.    

A Comprehensive Assessment of the Municipal Police of Ciudad Juárez

Year 2011

Marcos Pablo Moloeznik, Maria Eugenia Suárez de Garay, and David A. Shirk  September 2011 The Justiciabarómetro survey of Ciudad Juárez builds on the findings of a similar study conducted one year earlier in Guadalajara. This study surveyed 75% of the 3,146 municipal police officers serving the roughly 1.3 million inhabitants of Ciudad Juárez. The report can be accessed in English (Final Report) and in Spanish (Reporte Final).

Justiciabarómetro: Survey of Judges, Prosecutors, and Public Defenders in Nine Mexican States 

Year 2011

Matthew C. Ingram, Octavio Rodríguez Ferreira, and David A. Shirk June 2011 The Justiciabarómetro survey is a ground-breaking study of Mexican judges, prosecutors, and public defenders working in the country's criminal justice system. The survey examines respondents' demographic profile, professional background, and attitudes toward a wide variety of issues pertaining to the administration of justice in Mexico. This full report provides an overview of the survey's findings on a range of questions. 2011_JABO

Assessing Mexico’s Judicial Reform. Views of Judges, Prosecutors, and Public Defenders

Year 2011

Matthew C. Ingram, Octavio Rodríguez Ferreira, and David A. Shirk June 2011 This report highlights the findings of the Justiciabarómetro survey of judges, prosecutors, and public defenders working in Mexico’s criminal justice system from October to December 2010. It summarizes respondants’ attitudes regarding the workings of the Mexican criminal justice system, as well as the sweeping judicial reforms approved by Mexico’s Congress in 2008. 2011_JUDICIALREFORM