Carabineros de Chile

Carabiniers of Chile Carabineros de Chile
Logo of the Carabiniers of Chile
Motto	Orden y Patria Order & Fatherland
Agency overview
Formed	April 27, 1927
Preceding agency	Cuerpo de Carabineros
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
National agency (Operations jurisdiction)	Chile
Legal jurisdiction	As per operations jurisdiction.
General nature	Law enforcement Gendarmerie
Operational structure
Overviewed by	Dirección General
Headquarters	Santiago de Chile
Agency executive	Gustavo González Jure, Director General
Website
www.carabineros.cl

The Carabiniers of Chile, (Spanish: Carabineros de Chile) are the uniformed Chilean national police force and gendarmerie.

Created in 1927, their mission is to maintain order and create public respect for the laws of the country. They report to the Ministerio de Defensa Nacional (Ministry of National Defense) through the Undersecretary of Carabiniers. Since 2011 the Ministry of the Interior and Public Security has full control over them, thus fully separating it from the three other branches by department but still considered a part of the armed forces. Chile also has an investigative police force, the Investigations Police of Chile, also under the Interior and Public Security Ministry.

History

The origins of the Carabiniers can be traced back to night watchmen such as the Dragones de la Reina (Queen's Dragoons) (created in 1758 and later renamed the Dragoons of Chile in 1812) and other organizations that fulfilled functions such as the watch and local policing.

Later, cities such as Santiago and Valparaíso created their own city police forces. In 1881 the Rural Police (Policía Rural) was created for the rural areas of the country. However, the main problem with these police services was that they were dependent on local authorities for day-to-day decision making. This led to local officials abusing this power for their own political ends. In 1896 the Policía Fiscal (Prosecuting Police) was created to serve the cities.

The first policing organization with the name "Carabiniers" was the Corps of Carabiniers, in Spanish Cuerpo de Carabineros (with similar meaning as the Italian Carabinieri), formed in 1903 to bring law and order to the Araucanía Region of Southern Chile (then much larger than today). They were by then a Chilean Army unit, thus the reason why the Carabiniers of today sport military ranks and insignia. In 1908 the Carabiniers' School (Escuela de Carabineros, currently located in Providencia) was created.

Carabiniers of Chile (1927)

On April 27 1927, President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo merged the Fiscal Police (Policía Fiscal), the Rural Police (Policia Rural), and the existing Corps of Carabiniers to form the Carabiniers of Chile, one unified, paramilitary and national security institution under the direction of the national government. The organization still carries the name given to it by Ibáñez, who became the Carabiniers' first Director General. In 1929 its official coat of arms - two white crossed carbines in a green shield - was formally adopted. The service in 1930 became one of the pioneer mobile police forces in Latin America. In 1939 the service received its own staff college, the Police Sciences Academy.

The Air Operations Prefecture, the air arm of the service, was raised in 1960.

1962 would see it become the first among the Chilean uniformed services to include women into its ranks. The next year, the Children and Fatherland Foundation was formed as its social responsibility arm for troubled kids and preteens.

In 1973, the Carabiniers, headed by General Cesar Mendoza Duran, later appointed Director General, joined the Chilean coup of 1973 under the lead of the Army, Navy and Air Forces leaders, that overthrew President Salvador Allende. As such, the Carabiniers' commander was a formal member of the Military Government Junta (1973–1990), as well as members of the institution taking on administrative roles, such as being in charge of the Ministry of Education.

In 1974, formal command of the service was handed over to the Chilean Ministry of National Defense, and it was integrated into the ranks and traditions of the Chilean Armed Forces as a result. Until 2011, this was the case for the service, from that year onward it is a part of the Ministry of the Interior and Public Security.

Today

Police vehicles.

The Carabiniers' current mission is to maintain or re-establish order and security in Chilean society through civic education, service to the community, police work, and in a war situation, to act as a military force (all their members have military training). Under the current Chilean constitution the Carabiniers are integrated directly into the Armed Forces in a state of emergency to better guarantee the public order.

They also have a special armed police unit called the Special Police Operations Group (GOPE or Grupo de Operaciones Policiales Especiales). There is also an Elite Corps in charge of security in La Moneda Palace and for the President. They travel in heavily armored trucks from which they can spray pressured water to control mobs.

The Carabineros have recently replaced their Ruger P90 with the 9mm SIG P220. While most police forces issue the Chilean FAMAE revolver or the Brazilian Taurus Model 82, increasing numbers have adopted the Austrian Glock 17.

Aircraft inventory

The Carabiniers operate 35 aircraft in support of their operations, including 10 helicopters. Recently, 4 Augusta A109E have been acquired.

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	In service	Notes
Agusta A109	Italy	utility transport	Agusta A109E	5
Agusta AW139	Italy	utility transport	Agusta AW139	1
Bell 206	United States	utility helicopter	206B	1	Used for pilot training only.
Cessna 182	United States	utility	182Q	5
Cessna 206	United States	utility		3
Cessna 208	United States	utility		1
Cessna 210	United States	utility transport		5
Cessna Citation	United States	VIP transport	550 Citation II	2
Eurocopter Bo 105	Germany	utility helicopter	Bo 105C Bo 105LSA-3	5 2
Eurocopter EC 135	Germany	utility helicopter	EC 135 T1	1	Destroyed in an accident involving a Fire Truck during rescue operation. Pilot was the only occupant when hit; survived with multiple injuries
MBB/Kawasaki BK 117	Germany Japan	utility helicopter	BK117B-1	2
Piper PA-31 Navajo	United States	utility transport	PA-31 PA-31T Cheyenne	3 1

Ranks of the Chilean Carabiniers

Enlisted personnel and Non-commissioned officers
Chilean and foreign NCOs enter the service through enrollment at the Carabiniers Formation School and receive further training as Corporals at the Carabiniers NCO Academy, both located in the Santiago Metropolitan Region, and some of them have later training at the various service schools of the Carabiniers specializing in frontier defense, horsemanship and K-9 training and handling skills.

• Carabinero alumno (Student Carabinier)
• Carabinero (Carabinier)
• Cabo Segundo (Second Corporal)
• Cabo Primero (First Corporal)
• Sargento Segundo (Sergeant)
• Sargento Primero (First Sergeant)
• Suboficial (Sub-officer)
• Suboficial Mayor (Subofficer Major)

Commissioned officers
Officers of the Carabiners, native born or foreign officer having scholarships, start out as Officer Aspirants at the Carabinier Officers School "Pres. Gen. Carlos Ibanez del Campo" in Santiago, and after graduating become Sublieutenants either in Chile or in their home countries. Later training is provided by the Police Sciences Academy also in Santiago, and in the aforementioned specialty schools of the force.

• Aspirante a oficial (Officer Aspirant)
• Subteniente (Sublieutenant)
• Teniente (Lieutenant)
• Capitan (Captain)
• Mayor (Major)
• Teniente Coronel (Lieutenant Colonel)
• Coronel (Colonel)
• General (General)
• General Inspector (Inspector General)
• General Director (Director General)

External links

• Official website