Peru POLICE FORCES
Figure 17 Organization of the National Police, 1991
Source: Based on information from "Nuevo Esquema," Caretas
[Lima], No. 1169, July 22, 1991, 20.
Peru's police forces (FF.PP.) date from the days of
Simón
Bolívar in 1825 but were formally organized as a
responsibility
of the central government in 1852, with the establishment
of the
Gendarmerie. From this force, a Republican Guard (Guardia
Republicana--GR) was created in 1919, with specified
duties
related to border patrol, prison security, and the
protection of
establishments of national importance. A reorganization
was
carried out in 1924 under the aegis of a Spanish police
mission;
the new plan created the Civil Guard (Guardia Civil--GC)
as the
main national police force (the Republican Guard retained
its
specialized responsibilities) and a plainclothes
investigating
and forensic group known as the Investigative Police of
Peru
(Policía Investigativa de Perú--PIP). The constitution of
1979
designated the president of Peru as the head of the police
forces
and armed forces, but with administrative responsibility
for all
of the police continuing to be vested in the Ministry of
Interior.
After a number of problems in the mid-1980s, which
included
allegations of corruption, a large spate of human rights
violations, and a massacre of inmates (mostly SL members)
in Lima
prisons in June 1986 after they had surrendered following
a riot,
President García initiated a reorganization of the police
forces
that resulted in the creation of the new National Police
(Policía
Nacional--PN) on December 7, 1988. It encompassed the
General
Police (Policía General--PG, formerly the GC), the
Security
Police (Policía de Seguridad--PS, formerly the GR), and
the
Technical Police (Policía Técnica--PT, formerly the PIP),
all of
which remained under the authority of the Ministry of
Interior
(see
fig. 17).
The multiple challenges faced by the police forces
during the
1980s included rising crime rates, work stoppages, attacks
on
public buildings and installations, drug trafficking, and
a
growing guerrilla insurgency. These challenges contributed
to a
number of crises for the police (detailed later) but also
to
their expansion in personnel from 46,755 in 1980 to 84,265
in
1986 and about 85,000 in 1991 for the entire PN. By 1992
PN
strength was reduced to 84,000. All personnel were
recruited by
voluntary enlistment. These figures included a small but
indeterminate number of policewomen. Among the special
duties
policewomen performed were the staffing of a special
police
center set up in Lima in 1988 to provide assistance to
abused
spouses and children. In addition to the PN, Peruvian
cities
employed municipal police for minor duties in the city
hall and
other city buildings and for overseeing the cities' public
markets.
Data as of September 1992
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