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