The Chilean Gendarmerie ( es, Gendarmería de Chile), (abbreviated to ''GENCHI'') is the title of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

's uniformed national prison service military . The title is historic, Shorter Oxford English Dictionary describes a gendarme as "a soldier who is employed on police duties" and a "gendarmery, -erie" as "gendarmes as a body" The service evolved out of

Chilean Army The Chilean Army ( es, Ejército de Chile) is the land arm of the Military of Chile. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, a special operations brigade and an air brigade. In recent years, and a ...

units which were given police and prison duties. It is an armed service responsible to the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

. It has two mottoes, "

Labor Omnia Vincit ''Labor omnia vincit'' or ''Labor omnia vincit improbus'' is a list of Latin phrases, Latin phrase meaning "Work conquers all". The phrase is adapted from Virgil's ''Georgics'', Book I, lines 145–6: ''...Labor omnia vicit / improbus'' ("Stead ...

" ("Work conquers everything"), and "Deus Patria Lex" (God, Country, Law). Its symbol is a keep. The service is currently led by Director General of the Gendarmerie Sebastián urrua palma, appointed to this role by the Chilean president in 2022.

Early history

Chilean Army units were used for policing and guarding prisons from the time of Chile's independence. Chile's first "professional" prison was built in Santiago in 1843. In 1871 the "Special Guard" was created (''Guardia Especial'') which was Chile's first prison service separate from the army. A Gendarme battalion, the Bulnes Battalion, fought as part of the Chilean Army during the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...

. In 1892, under the government of

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Jorge Montt Jorge Montt Álvarez (; April 26, 1845 – October 8, 1922) was a vice admiral in the Chilean Navy and president of Chile from 1891 to 1896.L.S. Rowe, "Passing of a Great Figure in Chilean History." ''Bulletin Pan American Union'' 55 (1922): ...

, the service was called "Special Guards of the Prisons of Chile" (''Guardias Especiales de las Prisiones de Chile'') and was responsible for prisons, executions, and prisoner transport.

Modern history

In 1911, under the government of

Ramón Barros Luco Ramón Barros Luco (; June 9, 1835 – September 20, 1919) was President of Chile between 1910 and 1915. Barros Luco was born in 1835 in Santiago, Barros Luco was son of Ramón Luis Barros Fernández and Dolores Luco Fernández de Leiva. He grad ...

, the Special Guards experienced some reforms and the title "Prison Gendarmerie Corps" was adopted (''Cuerpo de Gendarmería de Prisiones''). It had the additional duty of guarding prisoners in court. The vast majority of members of this new service were seconded from the Army, including officers and other ranks - the very reason for the current military heritage of today's organization. A law was passed in 1921, Law N° 3.815, concerning the organization of the service. (From 1930 until today November 30 - the day the law took effect after its approval - is considered to be the anniversary of the Gendarmerie.) A Prison Gendarmerie School was established in 1928 to train personnel, and from 1944 onward, became the officer training school of the service. From 1929 until 1931, the service was part of the Carabiniers of Chile, the national Gendarmerie proper. During this time, it was known within the carabiniers as the Prison Service, and its members were "Prison

Carabiniers A carabinier (also sometimes spelled carabineer or carbineer) is in principle a soldier armed with a carbine. A carbiniere is a carabiniere musket or rifle and were commonplace by the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. The word is ...

". From 1931, the title "Prison Service" was used, and the service regained its independence. In 1944 an academy was founded, called the Penitentiary School of Chile, which in 1954 became the Technical School of Prison Security Services. During the dictatorship of General

Augusto Pinochet Ugarte Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...

, the current title of "" was adopted, and a new grey-green uniform was adopted which was inspired by German army uniforms of World War II. The Gendarmerie's Penological Education Academy, the staff college of the service for all junior officers, was established in 1997.

Organization

The Chilean Gendarmerie is a service which is influenced by and actively maintains its historic links with the Chilean army. As a result, it is an armed uniformed service of a military character, and it is organized on a military basis using ranks. However the rank of Director General can be filled by either a veteran officer of the force in either case under the appointment and confidence of the President. The current rank system dates from 2010 and is based on the historical ranks of the service. It is a military institution that since its inception has provided security to the country..

Ranks of the Gendarmerie

Gendarmes of the ranks
Gendarms of the ranks are those that graduate from the "Gendarme Alex Villagrán Pañinao" Gendarmerie's Penitentiary Formation School. * - Student Gendarme * - Gendarme * - Gendarme 2nd Class * - Gendarme 1st Class * - Lance Corporal * -

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

* -

First Class * -

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

* -

Staff Sergeant Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administrative, supervi ...

* -

Sub-Officer Sub-Officer, or the equivalent in other languages, is a term used in many armed forces used to indicate ranks below commissioned officers. Sub-officer is equivalent to the term warrant officer in the British Commonwealth and the United States. H ...

* - Senior Sub-Officer Officers
All future officers study at the "Pres. Gen.

Manuel Bulnes Prieto Manuel Bulnes Prieto (; December 25, 1799 – October 18, 1866) was a Chilean military and political figure. He was twice President of Chile, from 1841 to 1846 and from 1846 to 1851. Born in Concepción, he served as the president of Chile bet ...

" Gendarmerie Academy in

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

and upon graduation are commissioned as

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

s. * - Aspirant * -

Sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

* -

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

* -

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

* -

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

* -

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

* -

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

* -

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military 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 colonel was typically in charge of ...

* - Operational Sub-director (Brigadier of the Gendarmerie) * - National Director (General of the Gendarmerie) The Gendarmiere also maintains a civilian technical and administrative corps, and although they report to both officers and gendarmes, they wear no uniforms at all.

Rank insignia

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control National law enforcement agencies of Chile Gendarmerie Government of Chile 1929 establishments in Chile