New Mexico Register / Volume XXXVII,
Issue 2 / January 27, 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/E, 1/15/2026]
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/E, 1/15/2026]
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/E, 1/15/2026]
10.2.5.4 DURATION: One hundred and eighty days.
[10.2.5.4 NMAC - N/E, 1/15/2026]
10.2.5.5 EFFECTIVE DATE: January 15, 2026, unless a later date is
cited at the end of a section.
[10.2.5.5 NMAC - N/E, 1/15/2026]
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/E, 1/15/2026]
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/E, 1/15/2026]
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/E, 1/15/2026]
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/E, 1/15/2026]
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/E, 1/15/2026]
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/E, 1/15/2026]
HISTORY OF 10.2.5 NMAC: [RESERVED]