P.R. Laws tit. 25, § 3104
The Superintendent, as administrator and director of the Force, shall have the following powers and duties:
(a) Supervise and ensure that due process of law is complied with in all matters pertaining to regulations and adjudication in the Police Force.
(b) Determine, through regulations, the organization and administration of the Police, as well as the obligations, responsibilities and conduct of its members, civilian employees, police auxiliaries, reservists and council members, and any other matter needed for the operation of the Corps. The regulations shall be submitted to the Governor, and once approved by the latter, shall have force of law and shall be effective thirty (30) days after their approval. The Superintendent is hereby authorized to introduce amendments to the regulations following the same norms and procedures previously established for their approval.
(c) [Regulation] of the requirements for the recruitment, training and enlistment of members of the Force and exercise the appointing power. In addition, he/she shall establish through regulations the Puerto Rico Police members retraining requirements. Provided, that said retraining shall be mandatory every two years, after joining the Force, and shall be limited to the work division to which the Police Officer is assigned.
(d) Determine the post and duties of all members of the Police according to the Uniform Rank System and service requirements.
In the case of pregnant police officers who so request it, the Police Superintendent shall be required to temporarily relocate them to a work unit closer to their residence, once a medical certificate attesting to their pregnancy is presented. Provided, however, That once the maternity leave to which they are entitled concludes, said officers shall be reinstated to their original work unit, in accordance with service requirements.
(e) Appoint, subject to §§ 3101 et seq. of this title, all officers with the rank of Inspector, Major, Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel, upon confirmation by the Governor. The Corps Regulations shall establish the eligibility requirements for said ranks, so that the qualifications of each candidate may be determined objectively and scientifically. The following conditions shall be taken into consideration: conduct, leadership, initiative, attitude, education, years in service and the physical condition of the candidates. Should a vacancy arise in any of the aforementioned ranks, the Superintendent shall make his/her recommendation to the Governor, giving serious consideration to the factors listed above. Said recommendation shall include at least one (1) concise report on each candidate including all the necessary information concerning each of the factors to be considered. Promotions shall be effective as of the date the Governor signs them. The number of positions for the rank of Colonel shall be limited to ten (10).
(f) Establish in the regulations the rank or position of those who will head the areas, divisions, zones, districts and precincts.
(g) Appoint all civilian police personnel according to the provisions of Act No. 5 of October 14, 1975, as amended, known as the “Puerto Rico Public Service Personnel Act”, and of Act No. 89 of July 12, 1979, as amended, known as the “Uniform Compensation Act”. The Superintendent shall also appoint all police auxiliaries, who for all the purposes of §§ 3101 et seq. of this title shall neither be considered as members of the Force nor as civilian employees. They shall act in their capacity as citizens who, at the request of the Superintendent or his/her duly-authorized representative, voluntarily render their services to the Police Force in the fight against crime. They shall be covered by §§ 1 et seq. of Title 11, known as the “Workmen’s Accident Compensation Act”. They shall also be included within the concept of “state officials” while performing their duties as such and shall enjoy the full protection and benefits provided by law.
(h) Establish, through regulations, the organization and structure of each of the offices of the assistant superintendents and the bureaus.
(i) Provide, through regulations, for the chain of command in case of absence, disability, death or temporary vacancy of the office of Associate Superintendent.
(j) Provide, through regulations, all matters concerning the contracting of members of the Medical Evaluation Board and its procedures, subject to the provisions of § 3118 of this title.
(k) May bear firearms for his/her personal protection and that of his/her family, even after having ceased to hold said position, while demonstrably mentally and morally capable to do so.
(l) May create and grant bonuses for distinguished and meritorious services, to be established through regulations.
(m) May exercise any authority or power not in conflict with the provisions of §§ 3101 et seq. of this title, for the proper operation of the Police Force.
(n) Develop, in coordination with the Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission in Puerto Rico, the implementation of the AMBER Plan and the SILVER Plan, and to also promote the adoption thereof in the different cable systems and local radio and television stations, until the Federal Communications Commission makes it mandatory through the approval of the corresponding regulations.
(o) Reach an agreement with the municipalities to designate municipal police officers that in coordination with the Puerto Rico Police shall provide surveillance in schools. The cost incurred for the recruitment of such municipal personnel shall be defrayed by the State.
(p) As part of his/her functions as public security custodian:
(1) Shall establish liaisons and maintain coordination among state and federal agencies and international entities to organize and implement joint surveillance efforts in the coastline, airports and maritime ports and share and exchange the information and data needed to protect the points of access to Puerto Rico against the entry of drugs in to our Island;
(2) [shall] promote coordination between state and federal security agencies for the detection of criminal enterprises, money laundering and trafficking of firearms, whenever these illegal enterprises and activities are related to the illegal trafficking of drugs;
(3) [shall] coordinate the action plans and efforts of the government bodies related to the control of illegal trafficking of drugs, and
(4) [shall] advise the Governor and the Legislature on the mechanisms for controlling illegal trafficking of drugs destined to the Island, and each January, shall submit an annual report on the efforts made pursuant to this subsection to the Legislature and the Governor of Puerto Rico at the beginning of the first regular session of the year.
(q) Shall ensure the establishment and maintenance of a registry of crime incidence on the Island, as well as statistics for each area contained in the police regions on reported offenses, to be detailed according to their nature and the percent of clarification of said criminal acts. These statistics shall serve to allow the Superintendent to establish strategies that shall lead to appropriately fight crime, as well as to implement preventive initiatives in areas of greater criminal incidence. The Superintendent shall prepare a monthly report on the crimes reported to be detailed according to their nature and the percent of clarification of said criminal acts.
(1) The Superintendent shall adopt a collection, compilation, and report model of the criminal activity statistics per area contained in the police regions, to be detailed according to their nature and the percent of clarification of said criminal acts. This model or system shall include mechanisms to ensure that the highest quality control standards are followed in the collected and disclosed statistical information, including both internal and external annual audits. A copy of the audit reports shall be filed before the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate not later than February 1st of each year. In the case of statistical data regarding murders/homicides, the Superintendent shall establish a procedure to guarantee that officers of the Police, the Forensic Sciences Institute and the Registry of Vital Statistics of the Department of Health share and analyze the information available to ensure that there are no discrepancies in the compiled and reported data.
(2) The Superintendent shall establish the pertinent procedure to ensure that the monthly reports on crime statistics per area contained in the police regions, are detailed according to their nature and the percent of clarification of said criminal acts are updated and available through the Internet and other institutional disclosure means to expedite the continuous access of the citizens to said data.
(r) The Superintendent of the Puerto Rico Police is hereby empowered to coordinate and establish, together with the municipalities, the creation of the specialized areas of the Municipal Police as described herein; to issue the corresponding certifications to the members of these Corps; to ratify any regulation on matters pertaining to the Municipal Police Corps; and to oversee compliance with the provisions of §§ 1061 et seq. of Title 21, known as the “Municipal Police Act”.
History —June 10, 1996, No. 53, § 5; Dec. 24, 2002, No. 290, § 2; May 4, 2004, No. 106, § 3; Sept. 2, 2004, No. 242, § 1; Aug. 13, 2005, No. 53, § 2; Nov. 4, 2005, No. 137, § 1; Jan. 4, 2006, No. 1, § 1; May 23, 2008, No. 70, § 6; July 29, 2008, No. 132, § 1; Oct. 26, 2009, No. 132, § 9; July 29, 2010, No. 107, § 7; June 18, 2012, No. 120, § 1.