The Republican Guard of Peru (Spanish: Guardia Republicana del Perú) was a branch of the Peruvian National Gendarmerie responsible for providing security to the headquarters of public institutions and penitentiary establishments, as well as border control.

[6][7] The Republican Guard originally started as an infantry regiment of the Peruvian National Gendarmerie, founded in 1852 under the government of José Rufino Echenique as part of a reorganization of the police forces at the time.

In 1855, president Ramón Castilla reorganized the Gendarmerie, consolidating the existing police forces into it and establishing strict entry requirements, as well as increasing their numbers.

The following year, continuing with the reorganization of the Gendarmerie, Castilla issues the Decree of April 7, 1856, which divided the Gendarmerie into two battalions based in Lima: with headquarters at the “Sacramentos de Santa Ana” Barracks, located in the street of the same name and next to Plaza Italia, in Barrios Altos (now the campus of the "Heroes of Cenepa" Elementary School), and secondary headquarters in Rímac District.

[10]An 1873 decree by president Manuel Pardo once again reorganized the police forces of the country, creating, among other entities, the Prison Guard (Spanish: Guardia de Cárceles), located in each regional capital.

[4][12] The 1960s saw the creation of 'Antisubversive Squadrons', which were counter-terrorist groups which saw action during a 1965 guerrilla campaign against insurgents from the Revolutionary Left Movement based in Huancavelica.

[14] Horacio Patiño Cruzatti, a Civil Guard Major who was killed along with his squad by insurgents during the conflict, became a hero and a martyr to police forces.

Some 20 percent of the force was detailed to prison duty, with a large portion of the rest distributed among public buildings and 177 border stations.

On December 6, 1988, under president Alan García's government, Law N° 24949 was published, creating the National Police of Peru (PNP).