Under the 1980 constitution, the police are referred to as the Forces of Order and Public Security, their role being defined as the maintenance of law and order. There are two separate law enforcement forces: the Carabineros and the Investigations Police, both under the operational control of the Ministry of Interior. The Carabineros constitute a national police force that forms a potential reserve for the army and has a paramilitary organization. The Investigations Police is a national plainclothes organization comparable in some respects to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Data as of March 1994

NOTE: The information regarding Chile on this page is re-published from The Library of Congress Country Studies and the CIA World Factbook. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Chile THE SECURITY FORCES information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Chile THE SECURITY FORCES should be addressed to the Library of Congress and the CIA.