More than 1,300 investigations into alleged misconduct by public servants and police officers are currently open in Mexicali, with dozens of removals and suspensions already carried out this year, city officials announced.
The cases target both municipal employees and members of the Mexicali Police Department (DSPM). Of the total, roughly 550 open cases involve municipal government employees, while the remainder focus on law enforcement officers. The figures were released in a year-end report by city authorities.
Bribery, Protocol Violations Among Top Offenses
A city trustee identified the main causes behind officer removals and suspensions as serious offenses. These include soliciting bribes, violating police protocols, and failing mandatory “Control and Confidence” (C3) background checks and polygraph exams. C3 evaluations are standard vetting tools used across Mexican law enforcement agencies to screen for corruption and cartel ties.
High-profile incidents helped trigger some of the actions. A recorded assault at a local taco shop and a controversial high-speed police pursuit in the Mexicali Valley were cited as catalysts for internal reviews and disciplinary proceedings.
Crime Numbers Show Some Improvement
The internal accountability push comes as Mexicali’s broader crime picture shows mixed results. Business robberies in the border city dropped 38% through the first 11 months of 2025, according to data from the State Attorney General’s Office (FGE) and the Baja California Department of Citizen Security. That decline contrasts sharply with the high volume of misconduct cases inside the city’s own ranks.
Mexicali, a city of roughly one million people across the border from Calexico, California, is Baja California’s state capital and a major commercial hub. The city’s police force has faced recurring scrutiny over corruption allegations for years. A 2022 Justice in Mexico working paper noted that a significant portion of violent crime in Mexicali has been linked to organized crime infiltration of local institutions.
What the Numbers Mean for Accountability
The sheer volume of open cases, more than 1,300 combined, raises questions about the city’s capacity to resolve investigations and enforce consequences. Mexico’s municipal police forces are widely considered the most vulnerable to corruption among the country’s three levels of law enforcement. National data shows municipal officers were responsible for 54% of state-agent-linked disappearances in one study of Coahuila covering 2001 to 2017.
Whether Mexicali’s internal affairs apparatus can process this caseload and deliver real consequences remains to be seen. The city’s year-end disclosure is at minimum a public acknowledgment of the scale of the problem.
This story was first reported by Spanish-language media outlets covering Mexicali municipal government.