Provođenje zakona u Meksiku podijeljeno je između federalnih, državnih i općinskih (lokalnih) entiteta. Postoje dvije savezne policijske snage, 31 državna policija i dvije za grad Mexico a istraga Izvršnog tajništva Nacionalnog sustava javne sigurnosti, pokazuje da postoji 1.807 komunalnih policijskih snaga. Na 100 000 ljudi dolazi 366 policajaca, što ukupno iznosi približno 500 000, ali sustavna korupcija je endemična, a policijske snage često su loše obučene i potplaćene. Od 2012. godine, Meksiko ima policijske snage od preko 544 000 ljudi, što ga čini državom s četvrtom najvećom policijskom snagom na svijetu, odmah iza Kine, Indije i Sjedinjenih Država. Na svim razinama, policija u Meksiku nastoji održavati odvojene snage za patrolu / reakciju (preventivnu) policiju s jedne strane i istražnu (pravosudnu) policiju s druge strane.

      Law enforcement in Mexico is divided between federal, state, and municipal (local) entities. There are two federal police forces, 31 state police forces and two for Mexico city, and, an investigation of the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Safety System, indicates that there are 1,807 municipal police forces. There are 366 officers per 100,000 people, which equals approximately 500,000 in total, but systematic corruption is endemic and police forces are often poorly trained and underpaid. As of 2012, Mexico has a police force of over 544,000 people, making it the country with the fourth largest police force in the world, just behind China, India, and the United States.  At all levels, policing in Mexico tends to maintain separate forces for patrol/response (preventive) policing on the one hand and investigative (judicial) policing on the other.

      Savezna agencija za istrage (AFI) stvorena je 1. studenog 2001. Osnovana je kao dio vladine politike kako da umjesto bivše Federalne sudske policije (Policía Judicial Federal) koja je djelovala kao reaktivna policija, ustupajući mjesto istražnoj policiji koja je jamči učinkovitost i djelotvornost u borbi s kriminalnim strukturama. Savezna agencija za istrage (Agencia Federal de Investigación, AFI) službeno se rasformirala u četvrtak, 26. srpnja 2012., a umjesto nje preuzela je djelatnost Federalna ministrska policija (Policia Federal Ministerial, PFM).

      The Federal Investigation Agency (AFI) was created on November 1, 2001. It was created as a part of the government's public policy to evolve the scheme that the former Federal Judicial Police had operated as reactive police, to give way to an investigative police that guarantees efficiency and effectiveness in combat to criminal structures. The Federal Investigation Agency (Agencia Federal de Investigación, AFI) officially disbanded on Thursday, July 26 2012, with the Federal Ministerial Police (Policia Federal Ministerial, PFM) assuming operations in its place.

      Federalna autocestovna patrola (Policia Federal de Caminos) bila je administrativna policija zadužena za zaštitu meksičkih saveznih kopnenih putova. Nastali su zaslugom predsjednika Abelarda L. Rodrígueza u veljači 1931. godine, a prestali su postojati uključivanjem u Saveznu preventivnu policiju 1999. godine.

      The Federal Highway Police was an administrative police force in charge of protecting Mexico's federal land routes of communication. It was created by agreement of President Abelardo L. Rodríguez in February 1931 and disappeared when incorporated in to the Federal Preventive Police in 1999.

      Grenadiri/interventna policija (Grenaderos) su naoružane, specijalne policijske jedinice koje se koriste za suzbijanje nereda i ostale policijke zadaće, nešto kao naša Interventna policija. Federalna policija oprema i održava grenadirske čete za održavanje javne sigurnosti. Pripadnici ovih jedinica nose uniforme federalne policije.

      Grenadiers (Granaderos) are armored specialist police units used for anti-riot duties and other security roles. The Federal Police maintains regional grenadier companies for public security duties, while performing law enforcement and wearing FP uniforms.

      Provođenje zakona u Mexico Cityju pružaju dvije primarne agencije; Sekretarijat javne sigurnosti Mexico Cityja (Secretaría de Seguridad Pública de la ciudad de México), koje osigurava uniformiranu ili preventivnu policiju, i Ured državnog odvjetnika Mexico Cityja (Procuraduría General de Justicia de la ciudad de México) koji pruža usluge detektiva u civilu i službe kriminalističkih laboratorija.

      Mexico city dana 29. 01. 2016. prestaje biti Savezni okrug (Distrito Federal ili D.F.) i sada je službeno poznat kao Ciudad de México (ili CDMX), s većim stupnjem autonomije. Klauzula u ustavu Meksika, međutim, onemogućava da grad postane država u okviru meksičke federacije, jer je grad sjedište moći u zemlji, osim ako glavni grad države ne premjeste negdje drugdje.

      Law enforcement in Mexico City is provided by two primary agencies; the Secretariat of Public Security of Mexico City (Secretaría de Seguridad Pública de la ciudad de México), who provides uniformed or preventative police, and the Office of the Attorney General of Mexico City (Procuraduría General de Justicia de la ciudad de México) who provides plainclothes detectives and crime lab services.

     On 29 January 2016, it ceased to be the Federal District (Distrito Federal or D.F.) and is now officially known as Ciudad de México (or CDMX), with a greater degree of autonomy. A clause in the Constitutiom of Mexico, however, prevents it from becoming a state within the Mexican federation, as it is the seat of power in the country, unless the capital of the country were to be relocated elsewhere.

      Povijesno gledano, meksičke države imale su pravosudnu policiju zaduženu za pomoć državnim tužiteljima u istrazi zločina, a državnu patrolu na autocestama zaduženu za kontrolu prometa. Međutim, sve donedavno države nisu imale policiju s tradicionalnom policijskom ulogom patroliranja i prevencije kriminala u nadležnosti na razini pojedine federalne države. Sve su meksičke države počele osnivati ove vrste policijskih snaga kako bi ojačale slabu policiju na općinskoj razini (osim Nayarita, Queretara, Sinaloe i Zacatecasa). Te su policijske snage obično profesionalnije od svojih općinskih kolega zbog boljih odredbi o plaćama i mirovinskog fonda.

      Historically, Mexican states have had judicial police in charge of helping state prosecutors in investigating crimes and state highway patrol in charge of maintaining stranded motorist and policing traffic offences. However, until recently, states have not had police with traditional police roles of patrolling and crime prevention at a state-level jurisdiction. All Mexican states have started to build these types of police forces to bolster weak police at the municipal level except for Nayarit, Queretaro, Sinaloa, and Zacatecas. These police forces tend to be more professional than their municipal counterparts due to better pay and retirement provisions

      Iako su lokalne preventivne policijske snage najčešće u Meksiku, većina je iz siromašnih gradova i malih odjela s vrlo malo policajaca. Primjerice, 1100 općina (52,4 posto) ima manje od 20 policajaca, 530 gradova imalo je između 21 i 50 policajaca, a 210 općina računa na 51–100 policajaca. Samo 250 gradova ima više od 100 pripadnika policije. Štoviše, 400 gradova je preko 10 godina bez policije. Dalje, dok 64 posto cjelokupnog sastava lokalnih policija ima srednje obrazovanje ili manje (0 do 9 godina), samo 30 posto ima srednju stručnu spremu, a samo 3 posto ima višu ili visoku diplomu.

      While local preventative police forces are most common in Mexico, most are from poor cities and small departments with very few officers. For instance, 1,100 municipalities (52.4 percent) feature less than 20 police personnel, 530 towns had between 21 and 50 police officers, and 210 municipalities count on 51–100 police officers. Only 250 cities have more than 100 police. Moreover, 400 cities have gone 10 years without a police force. Further, while 64 percent of all municipal police have secondary education or less ( 0 to 9 years), only 30 percent have a high school diploma, and only 3 percent have a college or advanced degree.

      Na saveznoj razini primarna policijska snaga naziva se Policia Federal Preventiva. Nadležnost savezne policije obuhvaća sav nacionalni teritorij, a zadaća joj je provoditi savezne zakone. Njihova je primarna misija sprječavanje kaznenih djela i upravnih prijestupa protiv saveznih zakona, uključujući zakone protiv trgovine drogom. Jedan od središnjih ciljeva savezne policije je pomaganje državnim i lokalnih vlasti u istrazi i kaznenom progonu zločina i uhićenju pojedinaca. Nakon trideset godina radnog staža, savezni policijac ima pravo na mirovinu u iznosu od 100 posto svoje posljednje plaće. Da bi ušli u savezne policijske snage kandidati moraju imati najmanje srednjoškolsko obrazovanje.

      At the federal level, the primary police force is called the Policia Federal Preventiva. The federal police’s jurisdiction encapsulates all the national territory, and it is tasked with enforcing federal law. Its primary mission is to prevent crimes and administrative offences against federal legislation, including anti-drug trafficking laws. One of the federal police’s central goals is to participate in aid of national, state, and local authorities in the investigation and prosecution of crimes and the arrest of individuals. After thirty years of service, federal police have a right to a pension of 100 percent of their last salary. Candidates must also have a minimum high school education to enter the Federal Police force.