| National Police of Peru Policía Nacional del Perú | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
| Abbreviation | PNP |
| Motto | Dios, Patria, Ley God, Fatherland, Law |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | December 6, 1988 |
| Preceding agencies | |
| Employees | 130,000 |
| Annual budget | S/. 8.1 billion2009[1] |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| National agency | Peru |
| Operations jurisdiction | Peru |
| Size | 1,285,220 km² (496,222 mi²) |
| Population | 29,132,013June 2009 |
| Governing body | Ministry of the Interior |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Yes |
| Elected officer responsible |
|
| Agency executive |
|
| Facilities | |
| Airbases | Jorge Chávez International Airport |
| Airplanes | 11 |
| Helicopters | 26 |
| Notables | |
| Anniversary |
|
| Website | |
| pnp | |
TheNational Police of Peru (Spanish:Policía Nacional del Perú,PNP) is the nationalpolice force ofPeru. Its jurisdiction covers the nation's land, sea, and air territories. Formed from the merger of theInvestigative Police, theCivil Guard, and theRepublican Guard in 1988, it is one of the largest police forces inLatin America. Its mission is to preserve domestic order, public order and national security, in order to enforce the law and protect the people of Peru. The PNP is controlled by theMinistry of the Interior. The PNP has a number of divisions, tasked with enforcing specific aspects of the law; among the more well known are DIROES (Special Operations), DIRANDRO (Anti-Narcotics Unit), DIRINCRI (Criminal Investigations), andDIRCOTE (Anti-Terrorism).
After theproclamation of Independence of Peru in 1821 byJosé de San Martín, the Civic Guard and the Civic Militia were created, withJosé Bernardo de Tagle as Inspector General.[2] In a decree issued on 7 January 1825,Simón Bolívar established a National Militia.[3] This National Guard, formed on the basis of discharged personnel from the army and organized under a military system, also constituted the reserve of theArmy of Peru and was part of thearmed forces.
In 1845,Ramón Castilla, during his first government, reorganized the National Guard, distributing it in all departments, issued new rules and regulations aimed at delimiting the functions of the Political authorities and the General Inspection of the aforementioned Force.[4] In 1852,José Rufino Echenique reorganized the Police Forces into a single Corps and created theNational Gendarmerie of Peru.[5]
In 1855, Castilla began his second government by proceeding to reorganize the Gendarmerie, merging the existing Police Corps into it, establishing strict entry requirements and increasing its number.Manuel Pardo y Lavalle assumed the presidency on August 2, 1872, with one of his first actions being the reorganization of the Police Forces,[6][7] establishing theCivil Guard. The formation of this old police force lasted until 1919, where it was again reorganized underAugusto B. Leguía'ssecond government through two supreme decrees issued on August 7, 1919.[8]
Leguía, at the suggestion of General Gerardo Álvarez, ordered, emulating theFrench Republican Guard, that the Infantry Gendarmes Battalion No. 1 be called Peruvian Republican Guard Infantry Gendarmes Battalion No. 1, giving it the mission of security of theGovernment Palace and theNational Congress. On September 15, 1948,José Luis Bustamante y Rivero granted autonomy to the Investigation and Surveillance Corps and on June 3, 1960, it changed its name to the Investigative Police. From that period on, the three security forces in the country were theCivil Guard, theInvestigative Police and theRepublican Guard.
DuringAlan García's first presidency, the1986 Police Forces Act was signed, which formally laid the foundations for the definitive establishment of a new National Police.[9][10] The Act established a single command (i.e. the Directorate General of Police) and also the formation of a single study center for the preparation of police officers (in the basis of Civil Guard Instruction Center "Mariano Santos" in La Campina – Chorrillos, and to be called theNational Police Officer's School) and a national school for the guards and agents (referred to National Police headquarters at the former Republican Guard Superior Institute in Puente Piedra, today the National Police Technical College), directly under the Ministry of the Interior.
Law 24949 was finally enacted on December 6, 1988, amending the relevant articles of the1979 Constitution of Peru with the aim of the formal foundation of the National Police of Peru, and took effect the next day. The objectives sought were, among others, to integrate the three police forces to make better use of economic resources, eliminate the conflict that existed between them caused by "double role" problems and, above all, provide better services to society.[11]
With the unification of the police forces the Civil Guard became known as the "General Police" (Spanish:Policia General), the Republican Guard became the "Security Police" (Spanish:Policía de Seguridad) and the Investigative Police became the "Technical Police" (Spanish:Policía Técnica) until 1991, when all 3 commands of the National Police were abolished and a single command created in its place.[12]
After the creation of the National Police,Saint Rose of Lima was designated, by Supreme Decree No. 0027-89-IN, published on September 18, 1989, as itspatron saint. In 1995, Saint Rose of Lima was decorated with the Order of Merit of the National Police in the degree of Grand Cross and was also awarded the Honorary Band of General of the National Police of Peru, in her capacity as Patron of the institute. In the Annual Calendar of Institutional Festivities of the National Police, August 30 of each year was designated as the Day of Saint Rose of Lima and Police Virtue, in accordance with the provisions of Supreme Decree No. 0027-89 and directorial resolution No. 355092 of August 6, 1992.
Recently, the National Police of Peru has experienced 28 years of war against terrorism and drug trafficking and has more than 140,000 troops. The PNP is one of the largest police forces in Latin America, with large land, air and water units as well as special forces and commandos assigned to locations all over the country particularly with the formation of their Tactical Action Sub-Unit (Sub-Unidad de Acción Táctica) or SUAT. However, the PNP is plagued by corruption.[13][14]
In 2022, allegations of widespread corruption under General CommanderJavier Gallardo – including reports of bribes involving tens of thousands of dollars for rank promotions and payments for more relaxed positions – led to institutional instability in the government of PresidentPedro Castillo suggestions by the president's prime ministerMirtha Vásquez resulted with General Gallardo being fired on 14 January 2022.[15] PNP officials believed that the leadership of Gallardo would damage the institution of the police force and sided with Minister of the InteriorAvelino Guillén, who ordered his firing.[15] General Gallardo attempted to stay in his position, though he later retired. On 27 December 2022, Gallardo was arrested for his alleged involvement of paid promotions of PNP officers.[16]
Under the 1988 National Police Act[17] and subsequent legislative acts of Congress, the National Police has the following functions:
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