Creation in the 19th century During the second half of the 19th century, Colombia went through many political changes and struggled to define itself as a nation. Tensions between the two main political parties, the
Colombian Liberal Party and the
Colombian Conservative Party, escalated into numerous civil as they debated the establishment of a political system based on either between
federalism or
centralism, among other major differences. The National Police of Colombia was established by Law 90 of 1888, under government orders, as a dependency of the then Ministry of Government. It was intended to function as a
gendarmerie for
Bogotá. The new institution was planned to be a force of 300 gendarmes divided into three
companies, commanded by a captain, two lieutenants and a second lieutenant, all overseenby two high-ranking officers. On October 23, 1890, acting president
Carlos Holguín Mallarino sanctioned a law authorizing the hiring of qualified trainers from either the United States or Europe to organize and train the newly established National Police. Colombian officials selected a French commissioner named
Jean Marie Marcelin Gilibert. The institution was formally established by decree 1000 of November 5, 1891. The initial mission of the National Police was to preserve public tranquility and protect people, as well as public and private properties. By constitutional law, the institution was required to enforce and guarantee the rights of the people, uphold the constitution and its laws, and obey their authority. Its function also included the authority to take action to prevent crimes and prosecute and arrest lawbreakers. The National Police was intended to recognize no privileges or distinctions among the general population, with the only exception being for international treaties established in the Constitution that granted immunity to members of diplomatic missions. File:Presidente Roberto Urdaneta Arbelaez.jpg|President
Roberto Urdaneta Arbelaez File:oficial de transportes.jpg|Oficial de Transportes, 1957 File:comandante motos.jpg|First motorcycle squad, 1953 File:subteniente ambulancia.png|First Emergency Vehicle Ford March 1952 File:Cadetes Carlos Holguin.jpg|Class Cadetes Carlos Holguin 1951 Escuela General Santander File:revista centinela.jpg|
Centinela, magazine from class Cadetes Carlos Holguin, 1951 After a civil war broke out in 1895 during the
presidency of
Rafael Núñez, the president went absent and
Miguel Antonio Caro temporarily assumed office. Caro declared a general
state of emergency, in which authority over the National Police was transferred to the Ministry of War on January 21, 1896, and its members received the same privileges as military personnel. When the aged president
Manuel Antonio Sanclemente was replaced by Vice President
José Manuel Marroquín, who assumed the presidency, the National Police was restructured and organized in a military manner. It was then transferred back to the Ministry of Government. To guarantee the security of Bogotá, the National Police was divided into seven districts to cover the entire city. A mutual fund called Caja de Gratificaciones was set up to pay benefits to service members, financed by the penalties imposed on the civilian population. By 1899, the National Police had a force of 944 agents divided into eight divisions.
20th century When the most intense of the civil wars broke out, known as the
Thousand Days' War (1899–1902), the National Police was once again assigned to the Ministry of War until September 6, 1901. Under the Decree 1380 of September 16, 1902 the National Police created the Presidential Palace Honor Guard Corps with the name
Guardia Civil de la Ciudad de Bogotá (Civil Guard of the City of Bogotá). During the presidency of
Rafael Reyes, the government authorized by decree 743 of 1904, the transfer of the Police to the Ministry of War, with the president micro-managing the institution. By authorization of Law 43 the Judicial Commissary of Police was established under the dependency of the General Command of the National Police to investigate crimes within its jurisdiction. From 1906 to 1909 the government created a cloned institution with similar functions to the National Police named the National
Gendarmerie Corps (
Cuerpo de Gendarmeria Nacional) intended to function decentralized from the National Police command and more militarized regime, managed by the Ministry of War. When General Jorge Holguín suppressed the National Gendarmerie Corps, the province governors were given the authority to organize police services at their own will. Law 14 signed on November 4, 1915 defined the National Police functions to "preserve public tranquility in Bogotá and any other place where needed to execute its functions, protect citizens and aid the constitutional law by enforcing it and the judicial branch of government." The institution was divided into three groups; the first in charge of security and vigilante functions, a second group acting as civil gendarmerie guard whose main responsibility was protecting the postal service and controlling the prison system. The third group functioned as the judicial police. In 1916 the institution was trained by the Spanish
Guardia Civil in their doctrine, mainly related to
criminology. They were restructured by Decree 1628 of October 9 of 1918, assigning the direction, sub-direction and Inspector General duties to officers seconded from the
National Army of Colombia - thus the basis for the Prussian style dress uniforms used today. Later the same year, as authorized by a Law 74 of November 19, 1919, the Colombian president hired a French instructor and chief of detectives, who was an expert in the
anthropometric system to train the National Police. In 1924 the Criminal Investigation School was founded to update personnel working in this area. In 1929 the Colombian government in agreement with the
Argentine government, hired Enrique Medina Artola to train the Colombian Police in
dactylography to replace the anthropometric system. In 1934 in an agreement with the Spanish government the National Police was trained in scientific identification until 1948. On July 7, 1937 by Decree 1277, the government authorized the creation of the General Santander Academy, which began operating in 1940 as an institute for every police recruit in the force. In 1939 the Colombian government receives the first cooperation agreement with the United States, through a
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) committee headed by agent Edgar K. Thompson.
El Bogotazo and La Violencia In 1948 when the civil unrest known as "El
Bogotazo" broke out, after the assassination of the popular presidential candidate
Jorge Eliecer Gaitán, the stability of the country was abruptly interrupted. This generated a period of civil unrest known as
La Violencia, which lasted for almost a decade. The government then decided to restructure the institution once again, with the cooperation and advice from the British. The English mission was composed of Colonel Douglas Gordon, Colonel Eric M. Roger, Lieutenant Colonel Bertrand W.H. Dyer, Major Frederick H. Abbot and Major William Parham, primarily assisted by Colombian lawyers Rafael Escallón, Timoleón Moncada, Carlos Losano Losano, Jorge and Enrique Gutiérrez Anzola. By Decree 0446 of February 14, 1950 the National Police created the Gonzálo Jiménez de Quesada Non-Commissioned School to train mid-level enlisted staff under the management of the
General Santander National Police Academy.
Military dictator, Gustavo Rojas Pinilla On June 13, 1953 Lieutenant General
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla seized power in a
coup d'etat, assuming functions as President of Colombia. In an attempt to better organize the military forces, President Rojas declared the Decree 1814 on the same day officially renaming and revamping the General Command of the Military Forces of Colombia under the name of General Command of the Armed Forces of Colombia. It defined the conformation of the Armed Forces as comprising the
Army,
Navy,
Aerospace Force and the National Police, the last assigned to the Ministry of War once again as a fourth military power, functioning with its own independent budget and organization, separate from the other branches as established by law. The Ministry of War was later renamed as the Ministry of Defense. Many Police Academies were planned and constructed in other cities of Colombia. In 1953, the Antonio Nariño Police Academy in
Barranquilla and the Alejandro Gutiérrez Police Academy in
Manizales were opened, followed by a social plan for retirement and social security called
Caja de Sueldos de la Policia Nacional by Decree 417 of 1954. The Eduardo Cuevas Academy later opened in 1955 in the city of
Villavicencio and the Carlos Holguín Academy in
Medellín was opened in 1958. During this year a cooperation mission arrived from
Chile to reorganize and train the
Carabinier Corps in urban and rural surveillance. As established in Law 193 of December 30, 1959, the Colombian nation assumed full financial responsibility for the National Police.
Colombian armed conflict , also known as "Rasguño", arrest performed by the National Police of Colombia In 1964, as mandated by the Decree 349 of February 19, the Police Superior Academy was founded to indoctrinate officers with the rank of Major to the grade of Lieutenant Colonels. By 1977 the institution had created the first course for female officers. During the 1960s and 1970s the National Police started facing guerrilla threats which were emerging during these years as a backlash from the political bipartisan struggle of the
La Violencia years. There was also the growing problem of contraband and illegal drug trafficking and the involvement of the United States with the implementation of the
Plan LASO as a
proxy war plan against the expansion of
Communism during the
Cold War. Later, the declaration of the
war on drugs and the
Plan Colombia would eventually help develop the present and ongoing
Colombian Armed Conflict involving mainly guerrillas: the
FARC-EP including its
Patriotic Union Party,
ELN,
EPL,
M-19, among many others; the
Drug Cartels such as the
Medellín Cartel,
Cali Cartel, and others;
paramilitarism and the
AUC. The Colombian National Police have been fighting against these many threats, tainted or involved in some cases of corruption and accusations of
human rights violations, amid the efforts of the majority of the institution to change its image.
Police corruption in Colombia during the Pablo Escobar era (late 1970s–1993) During the 1980s and early 1990s, Colombia was heavily impacted by the drug trade, primarily driven by the infamous Medellín Cartel led by Pablo Escobar. This period was marked by significant police corruption, as the vast wealth and influence of drug cartels infiltrated many levels of Colombian society, including law enforcement.
The influence of drug cartels Pablo Escobar, known for his ruthlessness and wealth, used his financial power to corrupt officials and law enforcement agents across Colombia. The Medellín Cartel, at its height, generated billions of dollars annually from the cocaine trade. This immense wealth allowed Escobar to exert considerable influence over police officers through a combination of bribery and intimidation, often summarized by the phrase "plata o plomo" (silver or lead), meaning officers could accept a bribe or face violence. Escobar's cartel routinely bribed police officers to look the other way or actively assist in the cartel's operations. Those who refused were often met with threats or violence. As a result, many police officers felt they had little choice but to comply with the cartel's demands.
Systemic corruption The systemic nature of corruption during this era extended beyond individual officers to higher levels of law enforcement and government. Several high-ranking officials were implicated in corruption scandals, highlighting the widespread reach of Escobar's influence.
Efforts to combat corruption The Colombian government, with assistance from international partners, made concerted efforts to combat police corruption and the influence of drug cartels.
Late 1990s improvement drive during a visit to Colombia greeted by a Colombian National Police patroller. During successive weak presidencies, some Colombian National Police members were accused of being involved in many corruption cases, including guerrilla collaboration; paramilitarism and the cleansing of the leftist Patriotic Union Party, among other cases; and the corruption generated by the drug cartels' illegal money or other criminal activities. The CNP became untrusted by the general population of Colombia and the country was facing an intense conflict or a full scale
civil war. To prevent this situation the institution began a process of change focusing on reinvigorating the values and principles of the institution, mostly led by General
Rosso Jose Serrano. Colombia's problems were demanding a strong government with strong institutions to face the numerous violations to the constitution and the population in general. The first steps towards this path was the relegation of bad policemen inside the force and targeting the major criminal organizations. The institution also focused on providing better benefits for the policemen and their families; and a particular effort to restore the trust of the community for the police force, emphasizing preventing crime, educating the population and the policemen on cordial relationships, neighborhood watch, cooperation, and community development. Since 1995 the National Police has begun to change norms, structures, and standard operating procedures, essentially on policemen's judgment toward accomplishing missions and encouraging those who are willing to work with selfless service, integrity, leadership, and a vision of improving the population in general. The National Police continues to have some corruption and human rights problems but the improvement has been considerable, including the education of personnel in other countries' law enforcement institutions and educational institutions through cooperation agreements. The institution is also highly involved in the
Plan Colombia.
21st century The Colombian National Police, operating under the Ministry of Defense, is responsible for internal law enforcement in Colombia. The Migration Directorate, part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, manages immigration-related matters. Law enforcement investigatory responsibilities are shared between the National Police and the Attorney General’s Corps of Technical Investigators. While the army primarily focuses on defending the country against external threats, it also provides logistical support and security for criminal investigations in high-conflict or remote areas. Civilian authorities generally maintain effective control over security forces, though there have been reports of abuses by security force members.
2007 wiretapping scandal In May 2007,
Revista Semana released transcripts of illegal wiretaps of incarcerated paramilitary leaders. After admitting his knowledge of the taps, commanding general
Jorge Daniel Castro was asked to resign, along with General Guillermo Chavez Ocana, the intelligence chief. General Oscar Naranjo Trujillo, a relatively junior general, was named to replace Castro. Due to police rules, Naranjo's appointment required the additional retirement of 10 senior generals.
Ongoing controversies Recent developments in Colombia have highlighted ongoing challenges, including reports of unlawful killings, torture, and arbitrary detention by security forces and armed groups. The country has experienced serious abuses related to its ongoing conflict, criminalization of libel, government corruption, and violence against marginalized groups such as
Afro-Colombians and
Indigenous persons,
LGBTQ+ individuals, and trade unionists. Despite efforts by the government to investigate, prosecute, and punish those responsible for human rights abuses, many cases encounter prolonged delays. These cases often originate from the armed conflict dating back to the 1960s. The government also works to combat official corruption. Recent reforms have focused on improving transparency and accountability, with measures such as mandatory body cameras for officers and increased community oversight. ==Ranks==