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Investigations Police (Chile)

Policía de Investigaciones de Chile

image by António Martins, 13 March 2025

Investigations Police
About the flag
About the emblem

See also:

Investigations Police

The service traces its roots to 1864 when Valparaíso established its "Policía Secreta" (English: Secret Police). In 1889 the "Sección Pesquisas" (English: Investigative Section) was created and in 1896 the "Policía Fiscal" (English: Fiscal Police) and within it the "Sección de Seguridad" (English: Security Section) in charge of judicial functions, investigating crimes, apprehending criminals and obtaining evidence, which clearly defined its investigative and civil nature.

After a brief period in which the Security Section was part of the "Carabineros of Chile," maintaining its civilian investigative character, the "Decreto Supremo Nº 5.115 del 26 de diciembre de 1932" (English: Supreme Decree No. 5,115 of December 26, 1932) was issued, which separated it from the Carabineros and declared it under reorganization.

Later on, "Ley Nº 5.180 del 19 de junio de 1933" (English: Law No. 5,180 of June 19, 1933) was issued which established the administrative autonomy of the Service outlining that the "Servicios de Investigaciones, Identificación y Pasaportes" (English: Investigation, Identification and Passport Services), establishing that the Investigation, Identification and Passport Services were a single civil department, dependent on the Ministry of the Interior.

On January 24, 1979, the "Decreto Ley Nº 2460" (English: Decree Law No. 2460) (https://www.pdichile.cl/docs/default-source/default-document-library/ley_organica.pdf?sfvrsn=e6974cd6_2 and http://www.investigaciones.cl/paginas/nosotros/leyorganica/leyorganicapich.pdf) was issued, which established the "Ley Orgánica de la Policía de Investigaciones" (English: Organic Law of the Investigative Police), which in its art. It establishes that “The Investigative Police is an institution of a professional, technical and scientific nature, a member of the "Fuerzas de Orden" (English: Law Enforcement Forces), dependent on the Ministry of National Defense.

In 1984, the "Ley Nº 18.322" (English: Law No. 18,322) changed the name from "Investigaciones de Chile" (English: Chilean Investigations) to “Policía de Investigaciones de Chile” (English: Chilean Investigations Police), with the acronym PDI adopted in 2018 from the previous which was PICH.
Esteban Rivera, 8 February 2025
Sources:
https://www.pdichile.cl/instituci%C3%B3n/nosotros/historia
https://www.pdichile.cl/instituci%C3%B3n/nosotros/historia#historiacompleta
https://www.pdichile.cl/instituci%C3%B3n/nosotros/historia#portada
http://www.investigaciones.cl/paginas/mision/histo/HISTO1.HTM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Investigations_Police_of_Chile

About the flag

The flag is a horizontal blue background with the service badge in the middle, the badge's latest version dated 1993 and designed by Alejandro Pardo San Martín.
Esteban Rivera, 8 February 2025

About the emblem

image by António Martins, 13 March 2025

The emblem's description is as follows (original in Spanish): the badge has "12 points, which are arranged clockwise, this tells us that as Detectives, we are police officers 24 hours a day. The lines between each pointer reflect light, which is the knowledge that illuminates the Detective to clarify the cases and fully comply with the orders of justice. At the top the word "POLICÍA" which answers the question: What are we?; Below the word "INVESTIGACIONES" which answers the question: What do we do?; The word "CHILE" next to the Coat of Arms of the Republic, indicates the place and/or geographical area where we carry out our KNOW HOW, which is “KNOW HOW TO RESEARCH”, giving effectiveness to the right; The laurel leaves indicate that the PDI is an institution with a history of more than fifty years; The badge number, which is unique for each Detective, is a demonstration of the conjunction, alter ego, between the natural person and the institution. Finally, it is important to highlight that in the center of the plaque is the coat of arms of the Republic with its five-pointed star, which today is interpreted as the star of Venus, a light that illuminates our national emblems and is related to the sense of ethics that supports the foundations of our institution"
(text by Second Prefect Migueles Castro and Commissioner Cristian Vega Duran)
Esteban Rivera, 8 February 2025
Source: https://www.facebook.com/MuseohistoricopolicialChile/posts/museo-hist%C3%B3rico-policial-y-s%C3%ADmbolos-institucionales-placa-de-servicio-los-s%C3%ADmbol/2101571010148103/