Law 21.845 extends flagrancy deadlines and enables video surveillance records

The Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile published this Saturday, October 10, 2026, Law No. 21,845, which amends the Criminal Procedure Code to extend the maximum period allowed to qualify an arrest as in flagrante. The regulation sets the period at 24 hours when the arrest is carried out by police officers, 48 hours if carried out by the Maritime Authority, and 12 hours when carried out by any other person. Additionally, it empowers the police to request video surveillance records and georeferencing data.

The law originated from a motion by Senator Manuel José Ossandón Irarrázabal and former senators Rodrigo Galilea Vial, José García Ruminot, Rafael Prohens Espinosa, and Kenneth Pugh Olavarría, and corresponds to Bulletin No. 16,481-25. It was promulgated in Santiago on October 6, 2026, by President José Antonio Kast Rist, along with ministers Fernando Rabat Celis (Justice and Human Rights), Fernando Barros Tocornal (National Defense), and Martín Arrau García-Huidobro (Public Security), and transcribed by the Undersecretary of Justice, Luis Silva Irarrázaval.

The Constitutional Court certified that, by ruling of September 24, 2026, in the order Rol No. 18,046-26-CPR, it did not issue a pronouncement in the preventive examination of constitutionality regarding single article No. 4 of the project, as it did not deal with matters pertaining to organic constitutional law. The certification was signed by the secretary lawyer Matías Vargas Börgel on September 25, 2026.

New deadlines for in flagrante arrest

The single article of the law replaces the second paragraph of article 130 of the Criminal Procedure Code to define “immediate time” as all that elapses between the commission of the act and the capture of the accused. The new limits are:

• 24 hours when the arrest is carried out by police officers.
• 48 hours when it is carried out by the Maritime Authority in the exercise of Maritime Police functions.
• 12 hours when it is carried out by any other person.

Video surveillance, witnesses, and georeferencing

The law incorporates two new literals e) and f) into article 83, regarding police actions without a prior warrant. The police may:

• Request the owners or managers of video surveillance systems to voluntarily provide audiovisual or other types of records, in cases of flagrancia, when they are useful for the arrest, the clarification of the facts, and the determination of those responsible.
• Request witnesses, after identification and recording of their statements, the voluntary delivery of records and georeferencing information that allows for the location of those responsible or objects linked to the crime.

If voluntary delivery occurs, the police must safeguard the integrity and custody of the records and provide a detailed report specifying the item delivered, the date and time of delivery, and the identification of the person delivering it and the requesting official. If the person refuses, the police must immediately notify the prosecutor.

Maritime Authority, Gendarmerie, and Public Prosecutor’s Office

The text incorporates a final paragraph to Article 79 so that the Maritime Authority has the status of an auxiliary to the Public Prosecutor’s Office regarding the activities of Article 34 of the decree with force of law No. 292 of 1953, which approves the Organic Law of the General Directorate of the Maritime Territory and Merchant Marine. Article 83 now expressly mentions Carabineros de Chile, the Investigative Police of Chile, the Maritime Authority, and the Gendarmerie of Chile, the latter only within the scope of its competencies.

In Article 87, the Public Prosecutor’s Office may authorize, through general instructions, the execution of investigative proceedings for certain crimes, provided they do not require judicial authorization, establishing criteria on the crimes for which they are applicable, the type of permitted actions, supervision mechanisms, and duties of transparency and accountability.

The regulation expands the timeframe within which the police may act without a prior order and extends their powers to camera records and location data, which directly affects defendants, the police and prosecutors, and the owners or managers of remote surveillance systems, who may be requested to voluntarily provide their recordings.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44,571, Saturday, October 10, 2026, Section I, General Norms, page 1 of 3 (official reference: CVE 2884604).