The Highway Police ( es, Policía de Carreteras) is the main body enforcing road regulations in

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

to control land transportation and traffic, prevention of accidentality and crimes, similar to a

highway patrol A highway patrol, or state patrol is either a police unit created primarily for the purpose of overseeing and enforcing traffic safety compliance on roads and highways, or a detail within an existing local or regional police agency that is prima ...

but with a nationwide area of operations.

History

During the presidency of

Miguel Abadía Méndez Miguel Abadía Méndez (June 5, 1867 – May 9, 1947) was the 12th President of Colombia (1926–1930). A Conservative party politician, Abadía was the last president of the period known as the Conservative Hegemony, running unopposed and fo ...

in 1929 by Decree 847 the Colombian National Police is adjudicated with the creation of a body to be in charge of roads and highways. In 1936 by Decree 1715 the Highway Police or ''Policia Vial'' is established to watch over

railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

Aerial tramway An aerial tramway, sky tram, cable car, ropeway, aerial tram, telepherique, or seilbahn is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion. With this form of lift, the grip ...

watercraft Any vehicle used in or on water as well as underwater, including boats, ships, hovercraft and submarines, is a watercraft, also known as a water vessel or waterborne vessel. A watercraft usually has a propulsive capability (whether by sail, ...

, highways and streets with the main function of enforcing transit, transportation and motor vehicle laws. On October 25, by Decree 2816 of 1955 the National Police designs and implements the ''Unidades de Intervención y Reacción'' or Intervention and Reaction Units (UNIR), a strategy focused on combating terrorism and delinquency on highways. On January 19, 1999, the organizational structure is defined and put under the management of the Operative Directorate of the National Police. With this change the institution intended to base the ''Policia de Carreteras'' on the Highway Patrol units in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and creates a unit called ''Agrupación Vial de Carabineros'' or Highway Carabiniers Group conformed by improved UNIR units, better equipped and trained to fight illegal groups in Colombia, but failed and was reinstated to the ''Policia de Carreteras''. Due to corruption problems the zoning of the Highway Police (''Zona de Carreteras'') was changed from seven centralized and dependent zones to decentralized entities attached to the organizational structure of the

Colombian National Police Departments Colombian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Colombia * Colombians, persons from Colombia, or of Colombian descent **For more information about the Colombian people, see: *** Demographics of Colombia *** Indigenous p ...

, each with a central command and were based on every

Department of Colombia Colombia is a unitary republic made up of thirty-two departments (Spanish: ''departamentos'', sing. ''departamento'') and a Capital District (''Distrito Capital''). Each department has a governor (''gobernador'') and an Assembly (''Asamblea D ...

External links

Policia Nacional de Colombia

Highway Police (Colombia) The Highway Police ( es, Policía de Carreteras) is the main body enforcing road regulations in Colombia to control land transportation and traffic, prevention of accidentality and crimes, similar to a highway patrol but with a nationwide area of ...

{{Colombia-stub