The National Police of Panama () is the national police of

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

, under the Panamanian Public Forces. Established by the National Police Act No. 18 of June 3, 1997, it is responsible for maintaining public order nationwide. The National Police, together with the National Aeronaval Service, National Border Service, Institutional Protection Service, and National Migration Service, make up the Public Forces. Since 2010, the National Police has reported to the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

through the Minister of Public Security. The National Police's

emergency telephone number An emergency telephone number is a number that allows a caller to contact local emergency services for assistance. The emergency number differs from country to country; it is typically a three-digit number so that it can be easily remembered and ...

is 104 and is free of charge nationwide.

History

Following

's independence from

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

in 1903, its first president, Dr. Manuel Amador Guerrero, dissolved the National Army after a failed mutiny in 1904 and a warning from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

that a Panamanian military could threaten the stability of the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone (), also known as just the Canal Zone, was a International zone#Concessions, concession of the United States located in the Isthmus of Panama that existed from 1903 to 1979. It consisted of the Panama Canal and an area gene ...

. With the few officers remaining on active duty, he formed a Military Police Corps with limited capabilities. Crises like the Coto War (which lasted about 13–14 days) in 1921 illustrated the Military Police Corps' weakness, with them being forced to withdraw from the Coto District even with volunteer militia support. The

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

drastically affected the Military Police Corps, reducing their personnel to just 200 officers and rendering their barracks vulnerable to looting and property destruction. In 1935,

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Manuel Pino restructured the Military Police Corps as the National Police, providing a budget and a more stable internal framework. Around 1952,

José Antonio Remón Cantera Colonel José Antonio Remón Cantera (11 April 1908 – 2 January 1955) was the 16th President of Panama, holding office from 1 October 1952 until his death on January 2, 1955. He was Panama's first military strongman and ruled the country behi ...

established the National Guard of Panama. In 1983,

Manuel Noriega Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno ( , ; February 11, 1934 – May 29, 2017) was a Panamanian dictator and military officer who was the ''de facto'' List of heads of state of Panama, ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989. He never officially serv ...

established the

Panama Defense Forces The Panama Defense Forces (; FFDD), formerly the National Guard (of Panama) (), were the armed forces of the Panama, Republic of Panama. It was created in 1983, led by Panama's dictator General Manuel Noriega and his general staff. It was disma ...

. Following the 1989

United States invasion of Panama The United States invaded Panama in mid-December 1989 during the presidency of George H. W. Bush. The purpose of the invasion was to depose the '' de facto'' ruler of Panama, General Manuel Noriega, who was wanted by U.S. authorities for rack ...

, the new government established the Panamanian Public Forces, with the National Police of Panama being organized under the Public Forces. Colonel Roberto Armijo was appointed to the position of police chief.

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

Jorge Miranda Molina, assumed the position as

Director General A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

of the National Police on July 4, 2019, in the first simultaneous change of command ceremony chaired by Laurentino Cortizo Cohen. He will serve until 2024.

Structure

The Panamanian National Police are structured para-militarily. Police stations are present in every district, and the country as a whole is divided into ''Zonas Policiales'' (Police Zones) major city or province. Sworn offices consist of the following ranks: ;Commissioned officer ranks ;Other ranks

Equipment

Vehicles

The police in Panama have numerous vehicles at their disposal. The police vehicles recently changed color from white with blue trim to a navy blue with white trim.

References

External links

* {{cite book, url=https://www.resdal.org/ing/libro-seg-2013/panama-index-2013-ing.pdf, title=Public security index : Central America : Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama , year=2013, publisher= :es:Red de Seguridad y Defensa de América Latina, last=Donadio, first=Marcela, isbn= 978-987-28638-6-9, location= Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires Government of Panama Law enforcement in Panama