Mexico City, November 25 (teleSUR-RHC)-- Tens of thousands of Mexican officials remain in their positions despite having failed security checks, the non-governmental organization Common Cause revealed Monday.

According to the NGO, an investigation of federal, state, and local security agencies revealed that 42,214 members of security agencies and justice departments across Mexico have failed these type of tests, yet have not been removed from their posts.

The study looked at local, federal and state police, ministers, judges, investigators, forensic analysts and even administrative employees who have access to sensitive information.

Of these agents, “3,516 belong to federal agencies, 20,521 to state corporations and 18,177 to local agencies (municipalities),” said Maria Elena Morera, president of Common Cause.

Morera explained why so many officials maintained their posts even though they failed these mandatory tests. “There are states where it is not really clear how to fire them and there are states where they don’t know how to do it and don’t know the mechanisms to do it,” explained Morera during a press conference.

Common Cause noted that of all 32 state security corporations, none of them received a positive grade or performance.

Security checks grew during former President Felipe Calderon administration, when drug cartels and criminal organizations reportedly began to infiltrate state security agencies.

The Common Cause study comes amid the worst political crisis in Mexico’s recent history following the disappearance of 43 students of the Ayotzinapa Teacher Training College on September 26.