CAT/OP/MEX/1/Add.2 Protocols on use of force, preservation of evidence and handover of detainees to the authorities 121. The protocols on use of force, preservation of evidence and handover of detainees to the authorities entered into operation on 23 April 2012. These protocols specify the cases and circumstances where force is to be lawfully, appropriately, rationally and proportionally used. 122. The protocols are the outcome of an agreement signed by the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of the Navy, the Ministry of Public Security and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Republic. These directives set out specifically how and when State force may be used against alleged offenders and the conditions under which detainees must be brought before the prosecutorial and judicial authorities. 123. The protocol on use of force contains specific guidelines regulating the legitimate use of force by federal and judicial police officers and military and naval personnel in the performance of their duties in support of the civilian authorities and pursuant to the Federal Firearms and Explosives Act. It also establishes levels of use of force, stipulating, in particular, that the authorities concerned shall not employ firearms against persons escaping, absconding or attempting to abscond except in cases of aggravated aggressive resistance constituting an imminent risk of death or serious injury. 124. The protocol on arrest and handover lays down the obligation on the part of the security authorities to inform detainees of the reason for their arrest and the rights available to them, acting in full compliance with the law. It sets out the rules whereby the officers responsible have to notify the public prosecution service of arrests carried out by them in connection with the commission of offences or administrative breaches, including the prompt handover of the person arrested and the preparation of a standard police report. 125. Provisions are also set out regarding the treatment of items of evidence found in order to ensure that judges are in possession of sufficient proofs when imposing penalties. The signatory institutions are thus afforded a legal basis for the performance of their functions. 126. Also, the federal law enforcement authorities are obliged, after making an arrest, to draw up a detailed report stating the place and time of arrest, the authority to which the person or persons arrested were handed over and whether or not there was resistance. If injuries are present, the report must indicate whether they were inflicted during arrest, owing to resistance, or in what circumstances they occurred. 127. With regard to the chain of custody and preservation of evidence, the protocols establish specific measures and methods to be adopted by the authorities for securing crime scenes and safeguarding evidence that could lead to the establishment of responsibility and the tracing of those guilty of criminal acts. 128. By publishing these protocols Mexico is taking a major step in raising professional standards of police investigation activities, given that the protocols on arrest and handover and chain-of-custody procedures are also applicable to the armed forces and all federal government officials. 40 GE.13-41196 (EXT)