[citation needed] Since taking possession of Puerto Rico in July 1898, as a result of the Spanish–American War, the United States has controlled the island as a US territory.

Selecting the police chief was originally the responsibility of the commanding officer of the United States Army in Puerto Rico, who also served as the governor until 1900 when the Foraker Act was established.

In this hostile and dangerous environment, officers have been frequently attacked by drug point shooters, making it the highest-risk unit of the Puerto Rico Police Department.

Organized in 1982, this division investigates robbery and fraud attempts committed against companies dedicated to the storage or custody of money or valuables.

They have been charged with protecting the Governor of Puerto Rico and his family, the Secretary of State, the Police Superintendent, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House.

Thus, most of the agents on the unit came from SWAT, Tactical Operations, Criminal Investigations Corps (CIC), Homicide Detectives and the PRPD Highway Patrol.

Fuerza de Choque's historic manner in dealing with crowd-control situations throughout its years of service has earned it criticism and complaints about civil-rights violations.

are selected, from the main police force, based on their reputation of being hard-working, tolerant, and patient officers, not easily provoked or over-zealous.

Besides having the leadership traits of a model, modern police officer, Fuerza-de-Choque candidates must meet the minimum height requirement of 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) or be talented in martial arts or another form of self-defense.

Besides crowd and riot control duties, Fuerza de Choque officers perform search and rescue, disaster, and directed patrol operations.

Fuerza de Choque’s mission of crowd control has been the same throughout its service history, and it could be loosely characterized as successful; therefore, the unit remains an important resource to police field commanders throughout Puerto Rico.

The Aerial Services duties range from giving air support to ground units and coastal patrol, to Search and Rescue and SWAT exercises.

This was also when LED light bars were introduced to the fleet, on the Chevrolet Impala cars assigned only to the Public Residential Security Corps.

In 2004, the patch was changed to an image of a man and woman dressed as police officers, with the U.S. and Puerto Rico flags behind, with the city and a garita or watch tower also behind.

The uniform in current use is the light-blue shirt, with long or short sleeves and navy blue pants, with the black line on the side of the legs from waist down.

Created on October 1, 2003, it covers the towns of Barranquitas, Comerío, Orocovis, Coamo and Aibonito, where the headquarters are located at #198 Julio Rosario St.

Created on September 6, 1997, the Fajardo police region is composed by the towns in the eastern tip of Puerto Rico, including the island-municipalities of Viques and Culebra.

Those towns are: Mayagüez, Añasco, Las Marias, Maricao, Sabana Grande, Hormigueros, San German, Cabo Rojo and Lajas.

Its headquarters were located at 500 Hostos Avenue in the city of Ponce, but on 23 February 2011 it inaugurated new facilities in sector Vallas Torres, near Urbanizacion Los Caobos, at the intersection of PR-1 and PR-52.

Prior to being Puerto Rico (Insular) Police Headquarters for Ponce, the building on Calle Molina street had been the city's matadero.

The majority of sworn officers of the Puerto Rico Police Department work in the San Juan Region precincts and specialized divisions.

On August 11, 2007, Tactical Operations Division officer Javier Pagán Cruz shot and killed a community sports leader identified as Miguel A.

[27][28][29] In September 2010, the FBI conducted raids across Puerto Rico, arresting many members of the PRPD and other local police agencies as part of Operation Guard Shack.

[30] In June 2012, the American Civil Liberties Union has said "the [Puerto Rico Police Department] is steeped in a culture of unrestrained abuse and near-total impunity.

"[33][34] Evidence suggests that PRPD officers violate the rights of individuals of Dominican descent or appearance through targeted and unjustifiable police actions.

High-profile incidents receive more attention but activists and the Justice Department say abuses and discriminatory policing happen on a regular basis.

"Evidence suggests that PRPD officers violate the rights of individuals of Dominican descent or appearance through targeted and unjustifiable police actions," Justice Department lawyers wrote.

In one of the encounters that occurred in 2009, police clashed with Dominicans in a squatter community called Villas del Sol, located in Toa Baja.

A weeks-long police presence in the community resulted in a violent confrontation, where women and children were pepper sprayed, according to the Department of Justice.

In another incident that occurred in 2006, a Dominican man named Felix Escolastico Rodriguez was beaten by several police officers while parking his car in Rio Piedras.