Security police usually describes a law enforcement agency which focuses primarily on providing security and law enforcement services to particular areas or specific properties. They may be employed by governmental, public, or private institutions. Security police are generally considered distinct from security guards as the former typically hold some level of law enforcement authority. The exact powers held by security police vary widely between jurisdictions.
The Departament of Federal Police is a federal law enforcement agency of Brazil and one of the three national police forces. The other two are the Federal Highway Police, and the National Force. From 1944 to 1967 it was called the Federal Public Safety Department.
Military Police are the uniformed preventive state police of the states and of the Federal District of Brazil. The Military Police units are the main ostensive police force at the state level and are responsible for policing and maintaining the public order. Their formations, rules and uniforms vary depending on the state. Investigative work and forensics are undertaken by the Civil Police of each state.
In Brazil, the Federal Constitution establishes eight law enforcement institutions - seven titulars and one auxiliar. The titular institutions are: the Federal Police, the Federal Highway Police, the Federal Railroad Police, the Federal Penal Police, the State Military Police and Fire Brigade, the State Civil Police and the State Penal Police. Of these, the first four are affiliated to federal authorities and the latter three are subordinated to state governments. These public safety institutions are part of the Executive branch of either federal or state government. Apart from these eight institutions, there are others which affiliate to municipal authorities: the Municipal Guards. According to Minister Alexandre de Moraes of the Supreme Federal Court, "...the Municipal Guards are inserted in public safety as the auxiliary and related body of public security force..." Federal law 13,022 gave them de facto and de jure police attributions.
The Polícia de Segurança PúblicaMHTE is the national civil police force of Portugal. Part of the Portuguese security forces, the mission of the PSP is to defend Republican democracy, safeguarding internal security and the rights of its citizens. Despite many other functions, the force is generally known for policing urban areas with uniformed police officers, while rural areas are normally policed by National Republican Guard (GNR), the country's national gendarmerie force. PSP is focused in preventive policing, only investigating minor crimes. Investigation of serious crimes falls under the Judicial Police responsibility, which is a separate agency.
Federales is a Spanish term used in an informal context to denote security forces operating under a federal political system. The term gained widespread usage by English speakers due to popularization in such films as The Wild Bunch, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and Blue Streak, and the television drama series Breaking Bad and its spinoff prequel Better Call Saul. The term is a cognate and counterpart to the slang "Feds" in the United States.
The Federal Police, formerly known as the Policía Federal Preventiva and sometimes referred to in the U.S. as "Federales", was a Mexican national police force formed in 1999. In 2019 it was incorporated into the National Guard and operated under the authority of the Department of Security and Civil Protection.
The Federal Ministerial Police is a Mexican federal agency tasked with fighting corruption and organized crime, through an executive order by President Felipe Calderón. The agency is directed by the Attorney General's Office (FGR) and may have been partly modeled on the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. PFM agents in action often wear masks to prevent themselves from being identified by gang leaders. PFM agents are uniformed when carrying out raids.
Law enforcement in Spain is carried out by numerous organizations, not all of which operate in the same areas.
In Argentina, the most important law enforcement organization is the Argentine Federal Police with jurisdiction in all Argentine territory. Most routine police work is carried out by provincial/state police forces. In recent years, several cities started their own local police forces to reduce the burden on the State Police. The capital city of Buenos Aires, where the Argentine Federal Police works with Argentine Naval Prefecture and Buenos Aires City Police.
Airport police units are a security police agency assigned to perform law enforcement functions at airports. They provide a wide range of law enforcement duties and responsibilities including patrol, investigation, traffic flow management, and control and response to airport emergencies. Airport police provide enhanced safety to airport employees, and to passengers. Officers can be found at security gates, throughout the terminal area, and around the airport’s perimeter.
In many countries, particularly those with a federal system of government, there may be several law enforcement agencies, police or police-like organizations, each serving different levels of government and enforcing different subsets of the applicable law.
Law enforcement in Mexico City is provided by two primary agencies; the Secretariat of Citizen Security of Mexico City, who provides uniformed or preventative police, and the Office of the Attorney General of Mexico City who provides plainclothes detectives and crime lab services.
The Policía Nacional Bolivariana is Venezuela's national police force, created in 2009. Law enforcement in Venezuela has historically been highly fragmented, and the creation of a national police force was originally unpopular among the public and organizations. The creation of a National Police was one of the recommendations of a 2006 National Commission on Police Reform (CONAREPOL). At the time that the force was set up, the wage rate for officers in the new force was three times higher than that in existing forces.
The National Police of Honduras is the uniformed police force of the Republic of Honduras. The force is organised into regional headquarters, municipal headquarters, headquarters of fixed or mobile stations, and police posts. There are at least 360 police centres throughout Honduras. The National Police of Honduras has its headquarters in Tegucigalpa, the capital city of Honduras. The National Police of Honduras is the fourth largest police body in Central America by number of employees. It is the sixth largest force in Central America by police officers per capita. The force's patroness is the Virgin of Carmen. On 16 July of each year the "National Police Patroness Day" is celebrated.
On 6 April 2015, a convoy of the Jalisco State Police was ambushed by suspected members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a criminal group based in Jalisco. The attack occurred in a mountain road in San Sebastián del Oeste, Jalisco. Fifteen policemen were killed and five were wounded; no CJNG casualties were confirmed. According to police reports, as the police convoy reached a part of the road surrounded by mountains, the CJNG opened fire at the police units from the sides using high-caliber rifles, grenade launchers, and explosives with gasoline. The element of surprise prevented the police from repelling the aggression. The CJNG members burned several vehicles along the highway to halt reinforcements. The attack lasted roughly 30 minutes. When government reinforcements reached the scene, the CJNG gunmen had left.
On 19 March 2015, a convoy of the National Gendarmerie, a subdivision of the Mexican Federal Police (PF), was ambushed by gunmen of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a criminal group based in Jalisco, Mexico. The attack occurred in a residential neighborhood in Ocotlán, Jalisco. Five policemen, four CJNG gunmen, and two civilian bystanders were killed. According to police reports, as the PF convoy pulled up next to a parked vehicle, gunmen shot at them from the vehicle and from rooftops. The police attempted to shield themselves using their patrol cars, but reinforcements from the CJNG arrived at the scene and overwhelmed them. The shootout lasted between thirty minutes to two hours before the CJNG fled the scene.
The Military Police of Acre State are the preventive police force of the state of Acre. In Brazil, Military Police are reserve and ancillary forces of the Brazilian Army, and part of the System of Public Security and Brazilian Social Protection. Its members are called "State Military" person.
