New Mexico Register / Volume XXXVII,
Issue 12 / June 23, 2026
TITLE 10 PUBLIC
SAFETY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
CHAPTER 2 DEPARTMENT
OF PUBLIC SAFETY
PART 5 CLASSIFYING CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION
AND RECORDS IN MISSING PERSONS INVESTIGATIONS.
10.2.5.1 ISSUING AGENCY: Department of public safety
[10.2.5.1 NMAC - N,
6/23/2026]
10.2.5.2 SCOPE: All information and records that are
otherwise confidential under state and federal law; or that are related to the
investigation by a law enforcement agency of a missing person or unidentified
human remains, if the department of public safety, in consultation with the law
enforcement agency, determines that release of the information would be
deleterious to the investigation; or the department of public safety determines
the release of information might interfere with an investigation by law enforcement
or otherwise harm a person, custodian or reporter, shall be deemed to be
confidential.
[10.2.5.2 NMAC - N,
6/23/2026]
10.2.5.3 STATUTORY AUTHORITY: This rule is
promulgated pursuant to Section 9-19-6 E. NMSA 1978 of the Department of Public
Safety Act; Section 29-15-11 NMSA 1978, which charges the department of public
safety with creating a rule to classify certain information and records as
confidential; Sections 29-15-3 (A-D) NMSA 1978; and Sections 29-15-3 through
29-15-3.5 NMSA 1978.
[10.2.5.3 NMAC - N,
6/23/2026]
10.2.5.4 DURATION: Permanent.
[10.2.5.4 NMAC - N,
6/23/2026]
10.2.5.5 EFFECTIVE DATE:
June
23, 2026, unless a later date is cited at the end of a section.
[10.2.5.5 NMAC - N,
6/23/2026]
A. The
objective of this rule is to ensure that certain sensitive information and
records related to missing persons cases can remain confidential. This is in
accordance with other state and federal laws that provide for the
classification of certain information and records as confidential. Section
29-15-11 NMSA 1978 specifically recognizes that the release of certain
sensitive information would interfere with and be deleterious to active missing
persons investigations, or otherwise harm a person, custodian, or
reporter. This Statute authorizes the department of public safety to
categorize as confidential any information or records related to missing
persons or human remains in the state.
B. The State has specific obligations to ensure that Missing
Persons cases are thoroughly investigated in a timely manner. Releasing
sensitive information could impede the speed at which the investigations are
conducted, as well as their outcome. This is particularly concerning for the
most vulnerable populations within the State. Examples of these populations
include survivors of domestic violence as well as members of historically
marginalized groups, including indigenous peoples.
[10.2.5.6 NMAC - N,
6/23/2026]
10.2.5.7 DEFINITIONS: For purposes of this rule, the
following terms have the following meaning:
A. "Clearinghouse" means the missing persons information
clearinghouse;
B. "Custodian" means a parent, guardian or other
person who exercises legal physical control, care or custody of a child or of
an adult with a developmental disability; or a person who performs one or more
activities of daily living for an adult;
C. “Department” is the department of public safety;
D. "Indigenous Peoples": The descendants of the original
inhabitants who lived in what is now known as North America before colonization
or settlement. This recognizes the Nations, Tribes, and Pueblos located within
the exterior bounds of New Mexico, but is not limited to just these
communities.
E. "Endangered
person" means a missing person who:
(1) is in imminent danger of causing harm
to the person's self;
(2) is in imminent danger of causing harm
to another;
(3) is in imminent danger of being harmed
by another or who has been harmed by another;
(4) has been a victim of a crime as
provided in the Crimes Against Household Members Act, Sections 30-3-10 through 30-3-18, NMSA 1978 or in Section30-3A-3 or 30-3A-3.1, NMSA 1978, or their equivalents in
any other jurisdiction;
(5) is or was protected by an order of
protection pursuant to the Family Violence Protection Act, Chapter 40, Article
13,NMSA 1978;
(6) has Alzheimer's disease, dementia, or
another degenerative brain disorder, or a brain injury; or
(7) has a developmental disability as
defined in Subsection A of Section 28-16A-6, NMSA 1978, and that person's
health or safety is at risk;
F. "Immediate
family member" means the spouse, nearest relative or close friend of a
person;
G. "Law Enforcement Agency" means a
law enforcement agency of the state, tribal law enforcement a state agency or a
political subdivision of the state;
H. "Missing Person" means a person whose
whereabouts are unknown to the person's custodian or immediate family member,
and the circumstances of whose absence indicate that:
(1) the
person did not leave the care and control of the custodian or immediate family
member voluntarily, and the taking of the person was not authorized by law; or
(2) the person voluntarily left the care
and control of the custodian without the custodian's consent and without intent
to return;
I. "Missing
Person Report" means information that is:
(1) given to a law enforcement agency on a
form used for sending information to the national crime information center; and
(2) about a person whose whereabouts are
unknown to the reporter and who is alleged in the form submitted by the
reporter to be missing;
J. "Person" means an individual, regardless of
age;
K. "Possible match" means the similarities between
unidentified human remains and a missing person that would lead one to believe
they are the same person;
L. "Reporter" means the person who reports a
missing person;
M. "Records" are related to
the investigation by a law enforcement agency of a missing person or
unidentified human remains.
[10.2.5.7
NMAC - N, 6/23/2026]
10.2.5.8 CLASSIFICATION
OF INFORMATION AND RECORDS AS CONFIDENTIAL:
Public
records described in sections a-d are presumptively classified as confidential:
A. Records that are confidential under state or federal law
or rules adopted pursuant to state or federal law;
B. Records that are related to the
investigation by a law enforcement agency of a missing person or unidentified
human remains, if the department, in consultation with the law enforcement
agency, determines that release of the information would be deleterious to the
investigation;
C. Records or notations that the
clearinghouse maintains for internal use in matters relating to missing persons
and unidentified human remains, and the department of public safety determines
that release of the internal documents might interfere with an investigation by
a law enforcement agency in New Mexico or any other jurisdiction; or
D. Records that the department or law
enforcement agency determines might interfere with an investigation or
otherwise harm a person, custodian, or reporter.
[10.2.5.8 NMAC - N,
6/23/2026]
10.2.5.9 EXCEPTIONS
TO SHARING CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION: These rules do not
bar the sharing of confidential information with:
A. the custodian or immediate family members of the missing
person, except as pursuant to Subsection C of Section 29-15-5 NMSA 1978;
B. the clearinghouse pursuant to
Section 29-15-3 NMSA 1978; and
C. law enforcement agencies pursuant
to Section 29-15-10 NMSA 1978.
[10.2.5.9 NMAC - N,
6/23/2026]
10.2.5.10 PROCEDURES TO SHARING CONFIDENTIAL
INFORMATION:
A. The custodian or immediate family member may request
confidential information orally or in writing from a law enforcement agency
regarding a missing person or a missing person’s report. Upon receipt of the request, the law
enforcement agency shall immediately request information concerning the
reported missing person from the clearinghouse pursuant to Subsection A of
Section 29-15-5, NMSA 1978.
B. The law enforcement agency that received a request for
confidential information regarding a reported missing person must determine if
release is authorized by the exceptions listed in 10.2.5.8 NMAC. If no exception applies, the law enforcement
agency will deny the request and provide the requester with the authority for
the denial and the name of the person denying the request.
C. The department shall share confidential information
through the clearinghouse pursuant to Subsection B of Section 29-15-11 NMSA
1978.
D. The department shall share information within thirty days
to the national missing and unidentified persons system created by the United
States department of Justice's National Institute of Justice pursuant to
Section 29-15-3.4 NMSA 1978.
[10.2.5.10 NMAC - N,
6/23/2026]
10.2.5.11 PROCEDURE FOR DENIED REQUESTS:
A. Petition for internal administrative review of
the department’s denial of access. Any
requester who objects to the initial denial or partial denial of a request for
confidential information about a missing person may petition in writing to the
department’s supervising officer or designee for a review of that decision. The petition shall include a copy of the
denial or reasonably identify the reason for the denial of the request and the
name of the officer who denied the request.
B. Consideration of petition for review. The department’s supervising
officer or designee shall promptly request all relevant information from the
officer who initially denied the request.
The department’s supervising officer or designee shall conduct a review
and may either affirm or reverse the initial denial. The review and decision will be conducted
within the time frame agreed upon by the department’s supervising officer or
designee and the requester. The department’s supervising officer or designee’s decision
is final.
C. Petition for internal administrative review of
the denial of access by other law enforcement organizations. Any person who objects to the
initial denial or partial denial of a request for confidential information of a
missing person may utilize that law enforcement agencies’ appeal procedure.
[10.2.5.11 NMAC - N,
6/23/2026]
HISTORY OF 10.2.5 NMAC:
10.2.5 NMAC, Classifying Confidentiality of Information and Records in
Missing Persons Investigations, emergency filed and effective on 1/15/2026, was
permanently replaced with 10.2.5 NMAC, Classifying Confidentiality of
Information and Records in Missing Persons Investigations, effective 6/23/2026.