Puneet Varma (Editor)

Federal Police (Mexico)

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Abbreviation
  
PF

Employees
  
40,500 + (2009)

Formed
  
June 2, 1928

Annual budget
  
US$34.6 billion (2010)

Federal Police (Mexico)

Preceding agencies
  
1st Military Police Brigade, Mexican Army Federal Highway Police (Policía Federal de Caminos) Fiscal Police (Policía Fiscal Federal) Interior Secretariat's Investigation and National Security Center (Centro de Investigación y Seguridad Nacional)

Legal personality
  
Governmental: Government agency

The Federal Police (Spanish: Policía Federal, PF), formerly known as the Policía Federal Preventiva (Federal Preventive Police), is a Mexican police force under the authority of the Secretariat of the Interior. They are sometimes referred to by the slang term "Federales". Typically, agents of the Federal Police are heavily armed and wear dark blue, black, or gray combat fatigues.

Contents

The Federal Preventive Police was created by the merger of four other federal organizations in 1998 and 1999 in order to better co-ordinate the fight against the growing threat of drug cartels. The agency merged the Federal Highway Police, the Fiscal Police, an Interior Ministry intelligence unit called the Investigation and National Security Center, and military personnel transferred en masse from the Mexican army's 3rd Military Police Brigade.

On account of its heavily armed agents, its culture, and its origins, the Federal Police as a whole may be considered a gendarmerie. However, two of the seven "divisions" (i.e. branches of service) of the Federal Police have particularly military characteristics: The Federal Forces Division and the National Gendarmerie Division. The National Gendarmerie Division was created in 2014, and is legally defined as a military force within the Federal Police.

There is an investigation division within the Federal Police. Investigation of federal crimes can also be handled by the Federal Ministerial Police directed by the Attorney General of Mexico.

History

On May 29, 2009, the Federal Preventive Police name was changed to Federal Police, and some duties were added to it. The Federal Police was created as the main Federal Preventive Police in 1999 by the initiative of President Ernesto Zedillo (1994–2000) to prevent and combat and to enforce the law that drugs will not run around on Mexico's streets. The PF has been assuming its authority in stages over time, as its budget has grown and it has combined and reorganized police departments from major agencies such as those for migration, treasury, and highways. Many large bus stations and airports in Mexico are assigned a PF detachment.

Public Safety Secretary Genaro García Luna hoped to reform the nation's long-troubled police. Among other steps, he consolidated several agencies into a Federal Police force of nearly 25,000.

The Federal Police celebrates its anniversary on June 2 every year (Federal Police Day), with its history dating to 1928 as the successor of the agencies mentioned above.

Calderón's administration

When Felipe Calderón, the former President of Mexico, took office in 2006, there were roughly half a dozen drug cartels in Mexico. Each of the organizations were large and dominated huge parts of Mexico's territorial landscape, and operated internationally and overseas as well. When Calderón assumed the presidency, he realized that he could not rely on the federal police nor the intelligence agencies to restore order and crack down the logistics of the mafias. Over several decades, the cartels had bribed police commanders and top politicians; and often riddled with corruption, state authorities would not only fail to cooperate with other authorities in distinct federal levels, but would actively protect the cartels and their leaders. With limited options available, Calderón turned to the Mexican Armed Forces, which, because of its limited involvement in acting against the cartels, remained relatively immune to corruption and organized crime infiltration. He then moved the military to parts of Mexico most plagued by drug-violence to target, capture, and – if necessary – kill the leaders of the drug trafficking organizations. Yet, the president understood that the military could not fight the cartels alone and needed cops in which to rely on for patrolling, collecting intelligence information, and gathering evidences necessary to prosecute drug traffickers.

With the argument that he was tired of the corruption, Calderón abolished the AFI agency created in May 2009 and created an entirely new police force. The new force has formed part of Mexico's first national crime information system, which stores the fingerprints of everyone arrested in the country. They also have assumed the role of the Army in several parts of the country. According to the New York Times, the federal police has avoided "any serious incidents of corruption."

National Gendarmerie

On October 21, 2008, President Felipe Calderón proposed to break the former Federal Preventive Police to replace it with a different organization, because "the PFP has not yielded the expected results and has not been a strong institution capable of serving as a model for all police services in the country." The new corporation became the Federal Police, and it provides support to the police as to the Federal District, states and municipalities. This decision is said was not unexpected, given the insufficient number of convictions, the alarming increase of violence, abductions and cases of corruption and complicity with organized crime elements.

In December 2012, the Mexican government will create a new unit to replace all Federal Police duties, Federal Police will not be disbanded but will be assigned to special task & missions. Additional information on Mexico's planned Gendarmerie("The 'National Gendarmerie' and Mexico's Crime Fighting Plans," MexiData.info, Dec. 24, 2012).

The final product is the 2014 creation of the Federal Police's National Gendarmerie Division, with 5000 police agents. Its focus is on providing ongoing public security in areas with heavy criminal activities and providing border security. It is also expected to reinforce state, city and municipal police forces when the need arises. It is one of the seven constituent divisions of the Federal Police reporting directly to the Commissioner, and the newest to be raised.

Vision

Being an institution committed to the society in preventing crime and fighting crime, preserving the integrity and heritage of the people, peace and order and the rule of law, whose principles attached to this of legality, efficiency, professionalism and honesty, with full respect for human rights. Maintain and strengthen the social communications strategy and media relations that allows the dissemination of timely and accurate actions and work of the Federal Police.

Strategy

The PF was established as a central element of the strategy against organized crime and criminality in Mexico, not only to prevent crimes and federal jurisdiction at the federal level, but to become an institution of excellence, capable of cooperating with local police and prosecutors in investigating the crimes of high social impact. The strategic objectives are:

  • Compliance with legal framework to combat organized crime and drugs.
  • The establishment of the National System of Public Security.
  • The evaluation and adjustment of the strategy for drug control in Mexico.
  • On July 10, 2008, the Mexican government announced the intention of doubling the number of policemen in the PF to escalate the war against drug trafficking. The recruitment campaign has already begun and includes the university community.

    Strategic objectives

  • Preventing and combating crime commission to ensure peace and public order.
  • Fight corruption, to purify and dignify the police.
  • Strengthen the professionalism of the members of the Institution.
  • Improve public perception of the institutional activities.
  • Promote citizen participation in crime prevention.
  • Consolidated as the country's largest institution in the field.
  • Strengthen its organizational structure and functional.
  • Manage resources efficiently.
  • Increase and strengthen the operational deployment at the national level.
  • Strengthening intelligence activities.
  • Strengthen inter-agency coordination mechanisms with the three levels of government.
  • Promote the updating of the legal framework.
  • Strengthen and upgrade the technological infrastructure.
  • Institutional development

    The 'Integral Strategy for Crime Prevention and Fight against Crime "is based on a process of reengineering to organizational development, as well as systems and processes in organizational performance, with a cross through the professionalization the creation of three academies in the Ministry of Public Security for the purpose of having Mexican committed to legality, efficiency, professionalism and honesty in this current stage of drug influence to the United States.

    Basic Police School.

    To generate the training and training students with high school level.

    College research.

    It is aimed at all those aspiring and active police agents who choose to make them more professional, from academic performance and service in the police pro

    Strength

    In 2000, the PF had 10,878 agents and staff:

  • 4,899 from the Mexican army's 3rd Brigade of the Military Police (Tercera brigada de policía militar), included two military police battalions and an Assault Battalion.
  • 4,000 from the Federal Highway Police (Policía Federal de Caminos)
  • 1,500 from the Fiscal Police (Policía Fiscal Federal)
  • 600 from the Interior Ministry's Center of National Security And Investigation (Centro de Investigación y Seguridad Nacional) – Mexican intelligence agency.
  • Organization

    Regulation of the Law of the Federal Police in the Official Gazette of May 17, 2010, to establish the basic organizational structure of this Decentralized Administrative Body, Article 5 of that system, comprising a total of 136 seats of middle and senior management, broken 130 seats structure, as shown below:

  • 1 General Commissioner;
  • 7 Divisions: Intelligence Research, Regional Security; Scientific, Drug, Federal and Gendarmerie Forces;
  • 1 General Secretariat;
  • 1 Internal Affairs;
  • 20 Coordination;
  • 66 DGs;
  • 6 DGs in aid to the Chief of the Division of Regional Security;
  • 32 State Coordination at the regional level; and
  • 1 Head of Internal Affairs.
  • Commissioner General

  • Directorate General of Legal Affairs
  • Directorate General of Information
  • Directorate General of Social Communication
  • Intelligence Division

  • Coordination of Technical Services
  • General Directorate of Technical Monitoring Center
  • Directorate General of the Center for Risk Alert and Response
  • Directorate General for Development and Operation of Coverage
  • Covert Operations Coordination
  • Directorate General Operations and Infiltration
  • Directorate General of Recruitment and Resource Management
  • Directorate General for Supervision and Surveillance
  • Coordination Analysis and International Liaison
  • Directorate General of Analysis and Statistics
  • Directorate General for International Police Affairs
  • Indicators DG Information Integration
  • Research Division

  • Research Coordination Office
  • Directorate General of Tactical Analysis
  • General Directorate of Criminal Records and Records
  • Directorate General for Crisis Management and Negotiation
  • Coordination of Field Research
  • DG Research of Crimes against the Security and Integrity of Persons
  • Directorate General for Research of Crimes High Impact
  • DG Research of Federal Crimes
  • Technical Research Coordination and Operation
  • Directorate General of Technical Operations
  • Directorate General of Operational Intelligence
  • Directorate General Tactical Support
  • Regional Security Division

  • DG Personnel
  • DG Information
  • Directorate General Operations
  • Department of Logistics and Training
  • Directorate General of Planning and Supervision
  • Directorate General of Operational Control
  • State Coordinators (32)
  • Regional Coordination Zones (5)
  • Central Regional Coordination Zone
  • Northeast Regional Coordination Zone
  • Northwest Regional Coordination Zone
  • West Regional Coordination Zone
  • Southeast Regional Coordination Zone
  • Scientific Division

  • For the Prevention of Electronic Crimes
  • Department Cyber Crimes Prevention
  • CERT-MX - Centre of Expertise in Technological Response (Centro Especializado en Respuesta Tecnológica)
  • DG Laboratories in Electronics and Forensic Investigation
  • Coordination of Technological Innovation
  • Directorate General for Emerging Information Technologies
  • Department of Infrastructure and Implementation of Technological Processes
  • Directorate General for Innovation and Development
  • Coordination of Criminology
  • Directorate General of criminal behavior
  • DG Laboratories
  • DG Specialties
  • Drug Division

  • Drug Research Coordination Office
  • Tactical Analysis Directorate General of Drug
  • Directorate General of Records and Registration of Drug Trafficking and Related Crimes
  • Liaison Department and Institutional Cooperation
  • Field Research Coordination and Technical Drug
  • Directorate General of Technical Operation Drug
  • Directorate General of Drug Intelligence Operations
  • Directorate General Tactical Support against Drug Trafficking and Related Crimes
  • Research Coordination Illicit Resources
  • Directorate General of Tactical Analysis of Crimes Financial System
  • Financial Intelligence Directorate for Prevention
  • Prevention Directorate General Operations Illicit Resources
  • Federal Forces Division

  • Coordination Law and Order Restoration
  • Directorate General for Force Protection
  • Directorate General Rescue and Support of Civil Protection
  • Directorate General of Prison Transfers and Support
  • Alert and Coordination Immediate Reaction
  • Directorate General of Physical Security
  • Directorate General Reaction and Operation
  • Directorate General of the Canine Unit
  • Coordination of Special Operations
  • Directorate General of Intervention
  • Directorate General of Explosives
  • Directorate General of Special Equipment
  • Gendarmerie Division

    See article: National Gendarmerie (Mexico)

  • Coordination of the Gendarmerie
  • Directorate General of Planning and Logistics Gendarmerie
  • General Directorate of Strategic Operations and Special Units of the Gendarmerie
  • Directorate General of Social Proximity Gendarmerie
  • General Secretary

  • Coordination of General Services
  • Directorate General of Human Resources
  • Directorate General of Financial Resources
  • Department of Material Resources
  • Air Operations Coordination
  • Directorate General Operations
  • Directorate General Maintenance
  • Directorate General for Aviation and Safety Supervision
  • Coordination Technical Support
  • Department of Information
  • Directorate General of Telecommunications
  • Directorate General of Technical Facilities and Maintenance
  • Police Coordination System Development
  • Control Directorate General Trust
  • Directorate General of Civil Service System and Disciplinary
  • Directorate-General for Education and Professionalization
  • Internal Affairs

  • Directorate General for Internal Oversight Monitoring and
  • Directorate General for Internal Investigation
  • Directorate General Accountability
  • Superior Academy of Public Security of the Federal Police

  • Directorate General;
  • Directorate-General for Administration;
  • Academic Board;
  • Preceptory address, and
  • Services Division.
  • Divisions

    The Policía Federal consists of seven branches of service, known as divisions, administered by the a central administration called the General Secretariat (Secretaría General)

  • Anti-drug Division - División Antidrogas
  • Scientific Division - División Científica
  • Federal Forces Division - División de Fuerzas Federales
  • Intelligence Division - División de Inteligencia
  • Investigation Division - División de Investigación
  • Regional Security Division - División de Seguridad Regional
  • National Gendarmerie Division - División de Gendarmería Nacional
  • There is also a separate Internal Affairs Unit (Unidad de Asuntos Internos).

    2010 included the Policía Federal approx 35,000 civil servants on. A Comisionado General (General Manager), which is used directly by the President of Mexico, heads with wide-ranging powers the institution. Maribel Cervantes Guerrero broke off in February 2012 Facundo Rosas Rosas, who held this office since 2009 .

    The Special Operations Group (GOPES) is the police elite counter terror hostage rescue unit.

    Ranks

  • Policeman/woman - Policía - One bar
  • Corporal - Cabo - One chevron
  • 2nd Sergeant - Sargento Segundo - Two chevrons
  • 1st Sergeant - Sargento Primero - Three chevrons
  • Sub-officer - Suboficial - One triangle
  • Officer - Oficial - Two triangles
  • Sub-inspector - Subinspector - Three triangles
  • Inspector - Inspector - One star (eight-pointed)
  • Chief Inspector - Inspector Jefe - Two stars (eight-pointed)
  • Inspector General - Inspector General - Three stars (eight-pointed)
  • Commissary - Comisario
  • Chief Commissary- Comisario Jefe
  • Commissary General - Comisario General
  • Commissioner General - Comisionado General
  • The ranks from Commissary to Commissioner General wear more complex rank insignia involving the seven-pointed star of the Federal Police badge above one to four five-pointed stars placed between two stripes.

    Pistols

  • Beretta 92F—being phased out
  • Glock pistol
  • Heckler & Koch USP
  • Jericho 941
  • CZ P-09
  • Submachine guns

  • Colt 9mm SMG
  • Heckler & Koch MP5
  • Heckler & Koch MP7
  • Heckler & Koch UMP
  • Uzi
  • Assault rifles

  • AR-15
  • Beretta AR70/90
  • Beretta ARX 160
  • CZ-805 BREN
  • FN FAL
  • Galil ACE
  • Heckler & Koch G3
  • Sniper rifles

  • Barrett M82
  • DSR-50
  • Heckler & Koch MSG90
  • Machine guns

  • FN MAG
  • FN Minimi
  • Heckler & Koch HK21
  • IMI Negev
  • M2 Browning
  • M60E4
  • Shotguns

  • Mossberg 500
  • Grenade launchers

  • Heckler & Koch AG36
  • Milkor MGL
  • Transport

    The PF has many vehicles; land, sea and air, it is estimated to own more than 17,000 patrol cars. The exact information regarding transport vehicles and aircraft that comprise the fleet of the Federal Police is classified, to protect the life and efficiency of agents.

    Rotary wing and fixed wing pilot training takes place in the school of Naval Aviation located on Las Bajadas, Veracruz.

    References

    Federal Police (Mexico) Wikipedia