Law enforcement in Argentina

In Argentina the most important law enforcement organization is the Argentine Federal Police (equivalent to the FBI in the USA) with jurisdiction in all Argentine territory. Most routine police work is carried out by provincial police forces (equivalent to state police in the United States). An exception of the capital city of Buenos Aires (a federal district), where the Argentine Federal Police works with Argentine Naval Prefecture (Coast Guard) and Buenos Aires City Police (Municipal police).

Corruption is a pervasive and widespread practice among police agents in Argentina. It’s hard to know with precision the extent of corruption within Argentine law enforcement. Corruption is difficult to measure because most of it is never discovered and/or is not reported. However, there are some numbers that can indicate the extent of the problem in Argentina. In 2008, there were 120 investigations against police officers in relation to allegations of corruption and criminal involvement.

In the Buenos Aires Provincial Police force alone, there were 13,619 police officers investigated for acts of corruption, violence, and/or irregularities between 2008 and 2009, according to the General Auditing Office of Internal Affairs.Global Integrity ranks Argentine law enforcement as weak on anti-corruption performance with a score of 63 over 100. Likewise, Transparency International (TI)’s Bribe Payers Index 2008 gives the Argentine police a score of 3.9 on a 5-point scale, 1 being 'not at all corrupt' and 5 'extremely corrupt.'

The most common form of corruption practiced in Argentina by police agents is the request of a bribe or the acceptance of a bribe offered by citizens who committed a traffic violation or any ordinary infringement of the law, in order to avoid legal penalties. According to Barómetro de las Américas done by the Latin American Public Opinion Project, in Argentina, 15% of the population has been asked for a bribe by a police agent. This finding is backed by the Latinobarómetro 2008, which found that 59% of Argentines believe that it is possible to bribe a policeman in order to avoid a fine or arrest.

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