Milei announces overhaul of Federal Police’s powers

President Javier Milei has expanded the powers of Argentina’s Federal Police force by decree, introducing new rules that allow officers to carry out arrests, searches, digital surveillance and use service weapons without a court order.

In a decree approved Tuesday, Milei authorised new statutes that change the operational role of the force, which will now focus on federal complex crimes such as organised crime, drug-trafficking and cybercrime.

The traditional presence on the beat, dealing with tasks of urban security, will be designated to local forces.

Officials portrayed the changes as a part of an “integral programme of modernisation” that will see Argentina’s Federal Police learn from overseas policing forces like the FBI in the United States.

“We’re going to learn from the United States, we’re going to learn from Israel,” Milei said during an event on Tuesday evening presenting the changes.

Under the new measures, Argentina’s Federal Police may detain individuals for up to 10 hours without a warrant in order to verify their identity when there is a presumption of criminal activity.

Officers may also search individuals in public spaces – including their personal belongings and vehicles – without judicial authorisation. 

According to the decree, such searches may be carried out without a warrant in public spaces when there are reasonable grounds, such as concealment of evidence or as part of preventive operations in public areas.

In addition, “police personnel may display their firearms openly to ensure timely defence of persons, third-party rights, or their own,” the decree states.

Officers are also permitted to monitor “digital public spaces,” such as open social media platforms and public websites, without prior judicial approval. The statute specifies that these activities must respect personal data protection laws, privacy rights, and freedom of expression.

The objective, enshrined in Decree 383/2025, is to reorient the mission of the Federal Police "towards being a detective force with its focus on a certain type of crimes."

Civil society and rights groups expressed concern over the reforms and the lack of clarity in several amendments.

Profound changes

The decree lays out a plan for the “modernisation of the Argentine Federal Police” under the orbit of the National Security Ministry, which will be partially financed by the progressive reduction in the entry of new non-commissioned officers.

The force will now be divided into two core departments: the Federal Investigations Department (DFI) and the Federal Coordination Department (DFC), each with dedicated units covering areas such as criminal intelligence, narcotics, forensic analysis, international cooperation, internal affairs, and personnel welfare.

Among the main pillars of the new statutes are the updating of the organic structures, the incorporation of forensic technology and information systems, along with a training programme for university professionals and the implementation of state-of-the-art protocols for criminal investigation.

According to the text of the decree, signed by Milei, Cabinet Chief Guillermo Francos and Security Minister Patricia Bullrich, the changes are an attempt to restructure the federal police and avoid the overlapping of functions.

"Stripping away the functions and attributes associated with the local security force of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires" and updating the organic structure of the force with the aim of making it "leaner, more efficient and responding better to its main mission" are some of the chief points proposed in the norms.

‘Learn from US’

Milei’s La Libertad Avanza administration also wants to modernise the system for recruiting and training the members of the Federal Police.

The National Security Ministry under Bullrich will be required to create a programme for recruiting and training university graduates – described as a "common practice in police investigation in other countries," citing as an example the FBI.

The government also empowers Bullrich’s portfolio to exempt senior officers from compulsory retirement, recall retired personnel to active service and reorganise internal ranking.

The norm repeals Decree-Law N° 333/58, which has been in force for over six decades, while amending articles of complementary legislation to align norms with new objectives.

Bullrich maintained that this transformation seeks “an agile, intelligent and professional force,” aligned with international standards like those in other Western nations.

The Security Ministry will also have to "establish a timetable to cap the number of non-commissioned officers who may be incorporated annually." 

Criminal intelligence, policy analysis and policing evaluations carried out by the Federal Police will not be subject to the National Intelligence Law unless explicitly authorised by the competent authority.

Concerns

Civil society and legal groups expressed concerns about the changes.

According to the Coordinadora contra la Represión Policial (CORREPI) NGO, the changes represent “the destruction of democratic freedoms, rights, and longstanding legal guarantees of the Argentine people.”

“The decree empowers the Federal Police to gather information and secure evidence in order to present it to prosecutors or the courts.

“In other words, instead of investigating incidents or individuals at the request of judicial authorities, it is now the police who decide what to collect and in relation to which events, and only then initiate legal proceedings,” CORREPI said in a statement.

The decree also grants access to both public and private databases and allows the creation of internal information systems.

“All they have to do is set up a routine checkpoint and they’ll be able to search people, belongings, and vehicles at will,” the organisation warned.

– TIMES/AFP/NA