| National Police of Nicaragua Policía Nacional Nicaragüense |
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| Official seal of La Policía Nacional Nicaragüense | |
| Motto | Honor, Seguridad, Servicio |
| Honor, Security, Service | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | August 22, 1979 |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| National agency (Operations jurisdiction) |
Nicaragua |
| Legal jurisdiction | As per operations jurisdiction. |
| General nature |
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| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Managua, Nicaragua |
| Agency executive | Aminta Granera Sacasa, Commander, Chief of Police |
| Website | |
| http://www.policia.gob.ni/ (Spanish) | |
The National Nicaraguan Police Force (La Policía Nacional Nicaragüense) is the national police of Nicaragua. The force is in charge of regular police functions and, at times, works in conjunction with the Nicaraguan military, making it an indirect and rather subtle version of a gendarmerie.
However, the Nicaraguan National Police work separately and have a different established set of norms than the nation's military.
The Nicaraguan National Police emerged and took form in July 1979 after the previous gendarmerie, the National Guard, was overthrown along with the dictatorship of Somoza. That same year, the National Government of Reconstruction made a national order requiring a new civil policing force. On August 22, 1979, the Nicaraguan government also dismantled the nation’s gendarmerie, its office of National Security and Intelligence Services.
The Police force was fully recognized on September 5, 1979 under the Sandinista title, hence its name Sandinista Police. One year later, in 1980, the Nicaraguan legislature passed a law that created a police force that had specific jurisdictional functions.
The first members of the Police Force were trained by Panamanian professionals, who established a small basic military academy, which is known as the Walter Mendoza Martinez Police Academy today.
From the period of 1982 to 1988, the police force was required to transform its civil duties to that of a gendarmerie once more. Its shift of direction was forced due to the armed conflict that was taking place because of US-backed rebels in nicaraguan soil.
After its armed conflicts, the national police began to see a decline in its gendarmerie roles in the country and began to see more civil based operations as its main focus. The police uniform changed, and it officially became an internationally recognized police force. Between 1989 and 1992 saw a transition towards peace, change the uniform and assume the behalf of National Police.
With a one time high of nearly 35%, the Nicaragua National Police has one of the highest men to women ratios in the world. After sinking to a 17% low in the 1990's, the percent has climbed to the internationally competitive 30%. Despite this being a tough job for women, the women themselves and government find it very important due to protecting women and women's rights.[1]
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