Policía Federal Argentina - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Policía Federal Argentina (PFA; in English Argentine Federal Police) is a police force of the Argentine federal government. The PFA has detachments throughout the country, but its main responsibility is policing the Federal District

Federal district

Federal districts are a type of administrative division of a federation, under the direct control of a federal government. They exist in various countries and states all over the world.-United States:...

of Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

. Argentine Federal Police duties in Buenos Aires have been gradually taken over by a new force, the Policía Metropolitana de Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires Metropolitan Police).

History

The history of this police force can be traced to 1580, when the founder of Buenos Aires, Captain Juan de Garay

Juan de Garay

Juan de Garay was a Spanish conquistador.Garay was born in Orduña, Spain. He served under the Spanish crown, in the Viceroyalty of Peru...

, established a local militia for defense against potential Native American raids. The Policía de Buenos Aires (Buenos Aires Police) operated for the first three hundred years up to 1880, when the Federalization of Buenos Aires resulted in the creation of the Policía de la Capital (Police of the Capital).

Incidents of social unrest in subsequent years helped prompt the Fraga Law in 1904, which provided for the inclusion of neighborhood representatives as commissioner

Commissioner

Commissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....

s in their respective precincts. The failed Revolution of 1905

Argentine Revolution of 1905

The Argentine Revolution of 1905 also known as the Radical Revolution of 1905 was a civil-military uprising organized by the Radical Civic Union and headed by Hipólito Yrigoyen against the oligarchic dominance known as the Roquismo led by Julio Argentino Roca and his National Autonomist...

, by which the UCR

Radical Civic Union

The Radical Civic Union is a political party in Argentina. The party's positions on issues range from liberal to social democratic. The UCR is a member of the Socialist International. Founded in 1891 by radical liberals, it is the oldest political party active in Argentina...

sought to bring about reforms to the undemocratic electoral system

Argentine presidential elections, 1862-1910

Argentina held nine presidential elections between 1862 and 1910, every six years.-Background:These elections were all indirectly decided in the electoral college, and not reflective of popular vote...

, led to the appointment of a conservative congressman, retired Col. Ramón Falcón, to the post of chief of police; Falcón's repressive tenure ended with his 1909 assassination.

The current entity resulted from an initiative by the chief of police, Col. Emilio Ramírez. A panel convened by the police chief presented its findings to support the establishment of the Federal Police on November 8, 1943, and on December 24, Decree 17.750 was signed by President Pedro Pablo Ramírez

Pedro Pablo Ramírez

General Pedro Pablo Ramírez was de facto President of Argentina from June 7, 1943 to February 24, 1944. He was the founder and leader of the Guardia Nacional, Argentina's Fascist militia....

(the father of the chief of police). The new force did not immediately replace the Capital Police, but was instead transferred duties under the latter's purview incrementally. The first important such transfer was the February 7, 1944, assignment as the Presidential Guard of the Casa Rosada

Casa Rosada

La Casa Rosada is the official seat of the executive branch of the government of Argentina, and of the offices of the President. The President normally lives at the Quinta de Olivos, a compound in Olivos, Buenos Aires Province. Its characteristic color is pink, and is considered one of the most...

, and on March 10, the process of unifying the two forces was initiated by decree, concluding officially on January 1, 1945.

The Federal Police changed slowly in its organizational structure in subsequent decades. Initially maintaining 45 precincts, it added five in 1946, two in 1976, and a 53rd in 1999. Its subordinate role to the national executive increasingly made the force a political instrument during the country's often authoritarian regimes. General Juan Carlos Onganía

Juan Carlos Onganía

Juan Carlos Onganía Carballo was de facto president of Argentina from 29 June 1966 to 8 June 1970. He rose to power as military dictator after toppling, in a coup d’état self-named Revolución Argentina , the democratically elected president Arturo Illia .-Economic and social...

, president after a 1966 coup, named a Federal Police director, Luis Margaride, who shared his distaste for modern culture, resulting in crusades against nightclubs, long hair, and miniskirts. Facing a government policy backdrop such as this, numerous avant-garde artists (and others, particularly in academia) left Argentina, many never to return. The return of exiled President Juan Perón

Juan Perón

Juan Domingo Perón was an Argentine military officer, and politician. Perón was three times elected as President of Argentina though he only managed to serve one full term, after serving in several government positions, including the Secretary of Labor and the Vice Presidency...

in 1973 resulted in conflict with the PFA, when the calculating populist had Alberto Villar named as chief at the behest of adviser José López Rega

José López Rega

José López Rega was Argentina's Minister of Social Welfare during the Peronist government started in 1973 by Juan Perón and continued after Perón's death in 1974 by his third wife and vice-president, Isabel Martínez de Perón , until the coup d'etat of 1976 that initiated the so-called National...

. Villar was a member of López Rega's newly-organized paramilitary

Paramilitary

A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....

group, the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance, and Villar's participation in spiraling violence between the group and those on the far left led to his assassination in 1974. The institution's prestige was further damaged following the March 1976 coup, when the force participated in the abduction, torture and murder of thousands of dissidents and others.

The 1993 Olivos Pact between President Carlos Menem

Carlos Menem

Carlos Saúl Menem is an Argentine politician who was President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. He is currently an Argentine National Senator for La Rioja Province.-Early life:...

and his predecessor, UCR leader Raúl Alfonsín

Raúl Alfonsín

Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín was an Argentine lawyer, politician and statesman, who served as the President of Argentina from December 10, 1983, to July 8, 1989. Alfonsín was the first democratically-elected president of Argentina following the military government known as the National Reorganization...

resulted in the 1994 reform of the Argentine Constitution

1994 reform of the Argentine Constitution

The 1994 amendment to the Constitution of Argentina was approved on 22 August by a Constitutional Assembly that met in the twin cities of Santa Fe and Paraná...

, whose article 129 granted the City of Buenos Aires greater self-governance. This in principle included the transfer of control of the 25,000-strong Federal Police to the Jefe de Gobierno (elected Mayor), and the Buenos Aires City Legislature

Buenos Aires City Legislature

The Buenos Aires City Legislature is a central part of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires, as well as an architectural landmark in the city's Montserrat section.-History:...

. Shortly before the historic, June 30, 1996, elections to these posts, however, a senior Peronist Senator

Argentine Senate

The Argentine Senate is the upper house of the Argentine National Congress. It has 72 senators: three for each province and three for the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires...

, Antonio Cafiero

Antonio Cafiero

Antonio Francisco Cafiero is an Argentine Justicialist Party politician.-Biography:Cafiero was born in Buenos Aires. He joined Catholic Action in 1938, and enrolled at the University of Buenos Aires, becoming President of the Students' Association...

, succeeded in limiting the city's autonomy by advancing National Law 24.588, which reserved control of the force, among other faculties, to the national government

Government of Argentina

The government of Argentina, functioning within the framework of a federal system, is a presidential representative democratic republic. The President of Argentina is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the President. Legislative power is vested in both the...

.

The controversial bill, signed in 1996 by President Menem, remained a sticking point between successive Presidents (most of whom have been Peronist) and Buenos Aires Mayors (none of whom have been). A 2005 agreement on principles between Mayor Aníbal Ibarra

Aníbal Ibarra

Aníbal Ibarra is an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as mayor of Buenos Aires from 2000 to 2006.-Biography:Ibarra was born in Lomas de Zamora, a district located in the southern region of Greater Buenos Aires. His father was a Paraguayan member of the PLRA who left his country during the...

and President Néstor Kirchner

Néstor Kirchner

Néstor Carlos Kirchner was an Argentine politician who served as the 54th President of Argentina from 25 May 2003 until 10 December 2007. Previously, he was Governor of Santa Cruz Province since 10 December 1991. He briefly served as Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations ...

was followed by the modification of the especially contentious article 7, which denied the city its own, local police force, in 2007 - though the "Cafiero Law" otherwise remains in force. Efforts since 2007 by Mayor Mauricio Macri

Mauricio Macri

Mauricio Macri is an Argentine businessman turned politician, and Head of Government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. Son of Francisco Macri, a businessman of Italian origin prominent in the industrial and construction sectors, he represented the City of Buenos Aires in the Lower House of...

to declare it unconstitutional have thus far failed, and though the Mayor inaugurated a Metropolitan Police, issues of revenue sharing

Revenue sharing

Revenue sharing has multiple, related meanings depending on context.In business, revenue sharing refers to the sharing of profits and losses among different groups. One form shares between the general partner and limited partners in a limited partnership...

for its financing remain pending.

The PFA, since 1974, maintains a university specializing in criminology

Criminology

Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...

, is associated with Interpol

Interpol

Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...

, and participates in special forces training programs at the Los Angeles Police Department

Los Angeles Police Department

The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...

General Organization

The PFA is subordinate to the Ministry of Interior. The organization is headed by the Chief of the PFA, the Comisario General Néstor Vallecca, assisted by the Deputy Chief of the PFA, Comisario General Jorge Oriolo.

The PFA's headquarters, known as the Departamento Central de Policía, is located at 1650 Moreno Street, in the Montserrat

Montserrat, Buenos Aires

Monserrat is a neighbourhood located in the east of the Buenos Aires CBD. The district features some of the most important public buildings in Buenos Aires, including city hall, the city legislature, Casa Rosada, the Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires and the Libertador Building , among...

section of Buenos Aires. The over 12,000 m² (128,000 ft²) resulted from an 1868 proposal for its construction, which was ultimately approved in 1884. Designed by Juan Antonio Buschiazzo

Juan Antonio Buschiazzo

Juan Antonio Buschiazzo was an Italian architect and engineer who contributed to the modernisation of Buenos Aires, Argentina in the 1880s and to the construction of the city of La Plata, the new capital of the Buenos Aires Province.Born in 1845 in Pontinvrea, Province of Savona, Liguria,...

, and engineered by Francesco Tamburini

Francesco Tamburini

Francesco Tamburini was an architect born in Italy who died in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He studied architecture in the Royal Academy of Naples and arrived in Argentina in 1881 where he was employed as Inspector General of National Architecture from 1883 until his death in 1891.His works included...

, the ornate headquarters is an eclectic structure with influences from Baroque architecture

Baroque architecture

Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...

, and features a number of patio

Patio

A patio is an outdoor space generally used for dining or recreation that adjoins a residence and is typically paved. It may refer to a roofless inner courtyard of the sort found in Spanish-style dwellings or a paved area between a residence and a garden....

s, notably the central, Palm Tree Patio. Argentine Passport

Argentine passport

Argentine passports used to be issued exclusively by the Argentine Federal Police to citizens of Argentina. Since 2011, they are issued by the National Registry for People. Their primary use is to facilitate international travel....

s were issued to local residents at this location until 1996.

The organization of the PFA is as follows:

Jefatura (Headquarters)

Subjefatura (Subheadquarters)

Superintendencias (Superintendencies)
- - Superintendencia de Administración (Superintendency of Administration)
  - Superintendencia de Bienestar (Superintendency of Welfare)
  - Superintendencia Federal de Bomberos (Federal Superintendency of Firemen)
  - Superintendencia de Interior (Superintendency of Interior)
  - Superintendencia de Investigaciones Federales (Superintendency of Federal Investigations)
  - Superintendencia de Planificación y Desarrollo (Superintendency of Planning and Development)
  - Superintendencia de Seguridad Metropolitana (Superintendency of Metropolitan Security)
  - Superintendencia de Personal, Instrucción y Derechos Humanos (Superintendency of Personnel, Instruction and Human Rights)
  - Superintendencia de Policía Científica (Superintendency of Scientific Police)
  - Superintendencia de Comunicaciones (Superintendency of Communications)

- Direcciones Generales Autónomas (General Autonomic Directorates)
  - Dirección General Autónoma de Asuntos Jurídicos (General Autonomic Directorate of Legal Affairs)
  - Dirección General Autónoma de Asuntos Internos (General Autonomic Directorate of Internal Affairs)

Superintendencies are commanded by a superintendente, a less common word in Spanish. Both superintendente and the much more common Spanish word comisario normally translate into English as superintendent, which creates some translation problems when discussing Argentine police services.

Police Ranks

Officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...

Ranks (in descending order)

Rank	Approximate English translation
Comisario General (Jefe de Policia) (utiliza 4 rombos)	Superintendent-General or Commissioner-General
Comisario Mayor	Superintendent-Major or Commissioner-Major
Comisario Inspector	Superintendent-Inspector or Commissioner-Inspector
Comisario	Superintendent or Commissioner
Subcomisario	Under-Superintendent or Sub-commissioner
Official Principal	Principal Officer
Official Inspector	Inspector Officer (or just Inspector)
Official Subinspector	Sub-inspector Officer (or just Sub-Inspector)
Official Ayudante	Adjutant Officer or Assistant Officer

Sub-Officer
Sub-Officer
Sub-Officer is a term used in many military forces used to indicate ranks below commissioned officers. Sub-Officer is equivalent to the term NCO in the Commonwealth and USA...

Ranks (in descending order)

Rank	Approximate English translation
Suboficial Mayor	Subofficer-Major
Suboficial Auxiliar	Auxiliary Sub-Officer
Suboficial Escribiente	Clerk Sub-Officer or Administrative Sub-Officer or Staff Sub-Officer
Sargento Primero	First Sergeant or Sergeant First Class
Sargento	Sergeant
Cabo Primero	First Corporal
Cabo	Corporal
Agente / Bombero	Officer / Fireman
Aspirante	Candidate or Cadet

External links

Official website

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

History

General Organization

Police Ranks

See also

External links