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Venezuela Law Enforcement Agencies
Many different organizations carried out Venezuelan law
enforcement in 1990. Including the paramilitary National Guard,
there were four national-level police forces (see The Armed Forces
of Cooperation (National Guard), this ch.). In addition, over 450
state and municipal police forces functioned throughout the
country. Although state and municipal police normally operated
independently, they could be mobilized under emergency conditions
into a Unified Police Command.
The Directorate of Intelligence and Prevention Services (Direccion
de Seguridad e Inteligencia Policial--Disip) was a nonuniformed
force of some 3,000 personnel under the Ministry of Interior.
Disip's nationwide jurisdiction included the investigation of
crimes involving subversion, narcotics, and arms smuggling. Disip's
responsibilities include operations against terrorists and other
potentially violent groups, including organized crime. Disip's
director was appointed by the minister of interior. The
organization maintained its headquarters in Caracas, with field
offices in principal cities throughout the country.
The Technical and Judicial Police (Policia Tecnica y Judicial--
PTJ) was a component of the Ministry of Justice. It fielded over
3,000 plainclothes personnel in 1990. The PTJ handled most of the
country's investigative police work; other police agencies passed
on all cases requiring investigation to the PTJ. The president, on
the advice of the minister of justice, appointed the organization's
director, who was required to be a lawyer. Most PTJ personnel were
assigned to its headquarters in Caracas. Numerous divisions and
subdivisions throughout the country handled field work. New agents
were required to have completed at least three years of secondary
education and to undergo several months of training at the National
Academy in Caracas before assuming their duties.
The Traffic Police was a force of about 2,000 under the Ministry
of Transport and Communications. In addition to national traffic
control, the Traffic Police were responsible for issuing and
regulating drivers' licenses and for determining public
transportation routes and services.
Venezuela's state, metropolitan, and municipal police forces
totaled some 18,000 personnel. The largest such force was the
Metropolitan Police Force of Caracas, with about 9,000 members. All
local police forces received their funding through the Ministry of
Interior but responded to state governors under normal conditions.
The Metropolitan Police Force, which maintained a Police Academy in
El Junquito near Caracas, were comparatively well trained. In
contrast, other state and municipal forces fielded largely
untrained personnel and suffered from deficiencies in
communications, transportation, supplies, and facilities.
Data as of December 1990
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