Argentine Federal Police

The Argentine Federal Police (Spanish: Policía Federal Argentina or PFA) is the national civil police force of the Argentine federal government. It has federal operating units in all provinces and in the City of Buenos Aires.

Argentine Federal Police Policía Federal Argentina
Abbreviation	PFA
Motto	Al Servicio de la Seguridad de Estado To serve the community
Agency overview
Formed	December 24, 1943; 82 years ago (1943-12-24)
Preceding agencies	Policía de Buenos Aires (1580–1880) Policía de la Capital (1880–1943)
Jurisdictional structure
Federal agency (Operations jurisdiction)	Argentina
Operations jurisdiction	Argentina
Legal jurisdiction	As per operations jurisdiction
General nature	Federal law enforcement Civilian police
Operational structure
Headquarters	Departamento Central de Policía, 1650 Moreno Street, Montserrat, Buenos Aires
Sworn members	25,000
Agency executives	Luis Alejandro Rolle, Chief, Comisario General Mariano Giuffra, Deputy Chief, Comisario General
Website
argentina.gob.ar/policiafederal
The Policía Federal Argentina, while a federal agency, also provides direct policing to the capital city Buenos Aires

Riot control vehicle of the Policía Federal, Buenos Aires, 2008

It was created on December 24, 1943, and began operating on January 1, 1945. It investigates national crimes and regularly works in conjunction with provincial police forces. From its creation until December 31, 2016, it also served as the local police force in the city of Buenos Aires. On that date, it was replaced in those functions by the Policia de la Ciudad (City Police), formed by merging some PFA superintendencies with the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Police.

Organization

The PFA is responsible for investigating crimes that encompass the jurisdiction of the entire national territory, as well as crimes exclusively within the federal scope, including drug trafficking, money laundering, environmental crimes, and human trafficking.

It also has a Criminal Intelligence Unit, as well as the University Institute of the Argentine Federal Police, which provides university training in law, criminology, and security, among other areas of study.

Police ranks

Officer Ranks (in descending order)

Rank	Approximate English translation	Badge of rank
Comisario General - Jefe de Policia	Superintendent-General / Commissioner-General - Chief of Police	Four gold pips above a gold band & wreath
Comisario General	Superintendent-General or Commissioner-General	Three gold pips above a gold band & wreath
Comisario Mayor	Superintendent-Major or Commissioner-Major	Two gold pips above a gold band & wreath
Comisario Inspector	Superintendent-Inspector or Commissioner-Inspector	One gold pip above a gold band & wreath
Comisario	Superintendent or Commissioner	Two gold pips above a gold band
Subcomisario	Sub-commissioner	One gold pip above a gold band
Oficial Principal	Principal Officer	Three silver pips
Oficial Inspector	Inspector Officer (or just Inspector)	Two silver pips
Oficial Sub-Inspector	Sub-inspector Officer (or just Sub-Inspector)	One silver pip above one gold pip
Oficial Ayudante	Adjutant Officer or Assistant Officer	One silver pip

Sub-Officer Ranks (in descending order)

Rank	Approximate English translation	Badge of rank
Suboficial Mayor	Senior Sub-Officer	Four chevrons above an Austrian knot
Suboficial Auxiliar	Auxiliary Sub-Officer	Three chevrons above three arcs
Suboficial Escribiente	Clerk Sub-Officer or Administrative Sub-Officer or Staff Sub-Officer	Three chevrons above two arcs
Sargento Primero	First Sergeant	Three chevrons above an arc
Sargento	Sergeant	Three chevrons
Cabo Primero	First Corporal	Two chevrons
Cabo	Corporal	One chevron
Agente / Bombero	Officer / Fireman
Aspirante	Candidate or Cadet

Other websites

• Official website (in Spanish)