Institutions
Department of Public Safety
Coordinates and administers five specialized bureaus covering firefighting, disaster management, emergency medical services, 9-1-1 calls, and special investigations.
Art. 1.06 ↗ · Sources consulted:Department of Public Safety · Departamento de Seguridad Pública · DSP
Spanish legal name: Departamento de Seguridad Pública. Spanish legal names are retained. Some English names are functional translations.
- Government level
- State-level
- Branch or grouping
- Executive
- Type
- Department
- Sources consulted
- Oct 18, 2026
What it does
- Integrates administrative resources and coordinates service delivery across its five bureaus.Arts. 1.03, 1.05–1.06, 1.09 ↗ · Sources consulted:
- The Secretary provides immediate departmental supervision and administers shared budget, personnel, and support functions.Arts. 1.04–1.05, 1.10 ↗ · Sources consulted:
- Coordinates safety and response efforts with other state-level, municipal, and federal institutions without thereby making them DSP components.Art. 1.03 ↗ · Sources consulted:
In everyday life
For an incident requiring multiple services, 9-1-1 can route the call to the relevant response entities. DSP organizes its bureaus while each retains the specialized responsibilities assigned by law.Arts. 1.06, 3.01 ↗ · Sources consulted:
How to distinguish it from other institutions
The Puerto Rico Police was separated from DSP by Act 83-2025, and the Institute of Forensic Sciences by Act 135-2020. Neither is counted among the five current bureaus.Nota inicial; Art. 1.06 ↗ · Sources consulted:
The 9-1-1 bureau receives and routes calls; Fire and Emergency Medical Services perform different response functions. The department and its bureaus are not interchangeable names.Arts. 2.01, 3.01, 5.01 ↗ · Sources consulted:
Official services and information
Confirm requirements, forms, and schedules on the linked official portal.
Where it fits
- Includes component: Special Investigations Bureau Art. 1.06 ↗ · Sources consulted:
- Includes component: Bureau of Emergency Management and Disaster Administration Art. 1.06 ↗ · Sources consulted:
- Includes component: Puerto Rico Fire Bureau Art. 1.06 ↗ · Sources consulted:
- Includes component: Bureau of Emergency Medical Services Art. 1.06 ↗ · Sources consulted:
- Includes component: 9-1-1 Emergency Systems Bureau Art. 1.06 ↗ · Sources consulted:
- Its leadership is appointed by: Office of the Governor Art. 1.04 ↗ · Sources consulted:
Map groupings support navigation; they do not themselves establish reporting authority.
Leadership & appointments
Secretary of Public Safety
The Secretary is appointed by the governor with Senate advice and consent. The governor retains supreme direction while immediate administration and supervision are delegated to the Secretary.Art. 1.04 ↗ · Sources consulted:
A name is not published without current verification of the role.
- Appointment
- Verification pending
- Confirmation
- Verification pending
- Term end
- Verification pending
An absent name does not imply a vacancy. Names from the seed report are not automatically treated as current officeholders.
Governance & composition
Executive leadership belongs to the Secretary. The law also establishes an Executive Security Committee with coordination functions; it is different from a public corporation’s governing board. A complete current committee roster is not published here.Arts. 1.04, 1.13–1.14 ↗ · Sources consulted:
Sources consulted: Oct 18, 2026
Sources & method
The consultation date is not the institution’s own update date.
- Agencia | Gobierno de Puerto Rico ↗https://dsp.pr.gov/Sources consulted: Oct 17, 2026
- Ley 20-2017 — Departamento de Seguridad Pública (compilación OGP) ↗https://bvirtualogp.pr.gov/ogp/Bvirtual/LeyesOrganicas/Pages/20-2017.pdfSources consulted: Oct 18, 2026 · Document revised: Jul 17, 2026
- DSP — sobre el departamento y sus negociados ↗https://www.dsp.pr.gov/sobre-el-dspSources consulted: Oct 18, 2026