Law enforcement by country
In many countries, particularly those with a federal system of government, there may be several law enforcement agencies, police or police-like organizations, each serving different levels of government and enforcing different subsets of the applicable law.
List by country
Afghanistan
The Afghan National Police is responsible for civilian law enforcement. Once under the control of the Western-backed government of Afghanistan, it was reorganized as a law enforcement arm of the Taliban after its takeover of the country in 2021.
Albania
The
Algeria
Algeria has two police forces, the Directorate General for National Security, which is responsible for policing urban areas, and the National Gendarmerie, a branch of the military, which is responsible for policing rural areas. Algeria also has municipal guards whose primary duty is to protect villages and act as an auxiliary force to the police.
Argentina
In Argentina the most important law enforcement organisation is the Argentine Federal Police (with a jurisdiction and organization similar to the FBI in the USA) with jurisdiction in all Argentine territories. Argentina is a Federal Republic divided into 23 provinces and one federal district, and as a result, provincial police forces (equivalent to state police in the US) carry out most routine police work, except in the capital city of Buenos Aires (the federal district), which is policed by the Buenos Aires City Police. A few other cities also have city police forces. The Argentine National Gendarmerie is responsible for border security, securing places of national strategic importance, assisting provincial police forces in maintaining public security in rural areas, and fighting crimes such as drug trafficking, smuggling, and terrorism. The Airport Security Police is responsible for policing duties in national public airports. The Argentine Naval Prefecture acts as a coast guard and polices navigable rivers.
Armenia
The Police of Armenia is the national civilian law enforcement agency of Armenia. It is divided into a police department for the capital city of Yerevan and one for each of the 10 marzer, or administrative divisions.
Australia
The majority of policing work is carried out by the police forces of the six states that make up the Australian federation, such as the
Austria
The policing work is carried out basically by federal agencies. The
Azerbaijan
The National Police of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which is administered by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, is the civilian police force of Azerbaijan. The Prosecutor's Office is responsible for criminal investigations. The Ministry of Taxes, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Emergency Situations, and State Border Service maintain internal investigation offices which are responsible for dealing with crimes in specific areas.[1]
Bahrain
Law enforcement in Bahrain is delegated to the Public Security Forces, which are divided into different units and departments including the police departments of the four Governorates of Bahrain, the Special Security Force Command, Traffic Police, and Coast Guard. The Public Security Forces are an arm of the Ministry of Interior.
Bangladesh
The Bangladesh Police is the main law enforcement agency of Bangladesh. It is administered under the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of Bangladesh. It plays a crucial role in maintaining peace, and enforcement of law and order within Bangladesh. Though the police are primarily concerned with the maintenance of law and order and security of persons and property of individuals, they also play a big role in the criminal justice system.
Barbados
The Barbados Police Service (BPS) is the main agency tasked with maintaining local law and order in the country of Barbados. The police force may in times of need call upon the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) and/or Regional Security System for additional support.
Belgium
The majority of policing work in Belgium is carried out by the local police forces. The Federal Police is responsible for policing and investigating serious and organized crimes nationwide. Both forces are autonomous and subordinate to different authorities but are linked through common recruiting, training, and logistical support.
Bhutan
The Royal Bhutan Police is responsible for ordinary policing, and in administering and maintaining the prisons.
Botswana
The Botswana Police Service is the sole civilian law enforcement agency of Botswana. It is divided into four regional divisions and seventeen district commands. It has a paramilitary branch, the Special Support Group (SSG), which is run on military lines. The Botswana Prison Service maintains the nation's prisons.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Bosnian Police is divided into multiple entities. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska each maintain separate policies on law enforcement. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has ten cantonal police forces, each under the canton's Ministry of Interior, and a federation-wide police force, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Police, which is a specialized force covering specific crimes and those that cross cantonal borders. The Republika Srpska has a single centralized police force. The Brčko District has its own police force. Bosnia and Herzegovina has two national law enforcement agencies, the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) and the State Border Service.
Brazil
There are two active federal police services: the
Bulgaria
A number of law enforcement agencies operate in Bulgaria. The Ministry of Interior oversees the National Police Service is in charge of regular policing, the Central Office for Combating Organized Crime, which investigates organized crime and terrorism, the National Gendarmerie, and the Border Police Service. The National Investigative Service, which investigates serious crimes, is part of the judicial system.
Burundi
The National Police of Burundi is the lone civilian police service responsible for law enforcement across the country. It is divided into numerous branches including:
- Internal Security Police (Police de sécurité intérieure)
- Judicial Police (Police judiciaire)
- Air Police (Police de l'Air)
- Border and Aliens Police (Police des frontières et des étrangers)
( Prison Police (Police pénitentiaire)
Cambodia
The National Police of Cambodia (Nokorbal Chéat) is Cambodia's police force which is under the
Canada
In Canada, the development of criminal legislation falls under federal jurisdiction, but the enforcement of these laws is generally a provincial responsibility.[2] In contrast to the United States or Mexico, there are only two specialized criminal law enforcement agencies in Canada, and the vast majority of criminal law enforcement is conducted by local police services, which maintain specialized criminal investigation units in addition to their community safety mandate.[3][4] Other law enforcement is provided by special constabularies, which typically provide specialized police services to transit systems,[5][6] universities,[7][8] parks,[9][10] and municipalities,[11][12] and civil law enforcement agencies, which usually do not have a policing role.[13][14][15]
Every province in Canada, with the exception of Newfoundland and Labrador, downloads the responsibility for local policing onto municipalities, which can operate their own police forces, share regional police services with surrounding communities, or enter into a contract with the provincial government for police services.[2] Some First Nations can also establish independent police services, funded entirely by the provincial and federal governments,[16] but these services have been historically underfunded compared to non-Indigenous police forces and the program that funds Indigenous police agencies was under review as of 2022.[17][18][19] Since the 1990s, an increasing share of Canadian police forces and municipalities have adopted tiered police service delivery models, which reduce the responsibilities of police services by off-loading certain duties — such as forensic investigations, mental health crisis response,[20] traffic enforcement,[21] or low-risk calls for service — to non-police specialists or unarmed peace officers.[22][23][24]
There is also a federal police force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; French: Gendarmerie Royale du Canada; GRC), responsible for the enforcement of criminal legislation that concerns the entire federation, such as anti-terrorism operations;[25][26] border patrols between official crossings;[27] several police-related programs, such as the Canadian Police College and Canadian Firearms Program;[28][29] domestic counter-espionage with the assistance of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service;[30] and, uniquely and controversially,[31][32] the delivery of provincial and municipal police services under contract.[33] The RCMP provides contracted police services to eight provinces, all three Canadian territories, around 600 Indigenous communities, and about 150 municipalities directly.[33][34]
China, People's Republic of China
In the
Hong Kong
As a
Macau
As a
- Corpo de Polícia de Segurança Pública (CPSP – Public Security Police Force) – a civil uniformed police force, responsible for rule and order in the entire territory.
- Polícia Judiciária (PJ – Judiciary Police) – responsible for major criminal investigations.
In addition, Serviços de Polícia Unitários (SPU – Unitary Police Service) leads, commands and coordinates the anti-crime operations carried out by CPSP and PJ.
Colombia
The National Police of Colombia (Spanish: Policía Nacional de Colombia) is the national police force of Colombia. Although the National Police is not part of the Military Forces of Colombia (Army, Navy, and Air Force), it constitutes along with them the "Public Force"[2] and is also controlled by the Ministry of Defense. Unlike many nations that use a tiered system of law enforcement, the National Police is the only civilian police force in Colombia. The force's official functions are to protect the Colombian nation, enforce the law by constitutional mandate, maintain and guarantee the necessary conditions for public freedoms and rights and ensure peaceful cohabitation among the population. For these purposes, the police have rural police divisions (the "carabineros"), traffic police, investigations, anti-drugs, intelligence, citizen security, internal control, among others. The police force divides its functions into local and departmental deconcentrated units, such as the police departments (which act as departmental police forces and in some geographical areas under the command of the governors) and the metropolitan police forces that operate in the main cities; there are also police stations in each municipality and the police officers who operate within these are under the command of the respective mayor's office. Annual budget US$3.6 to 4 billion There are 147,000 employees.[35]
Although in Colombia the main force for compliance with civil law is the National Police and its divisions, there are other smaller units such as the
Costa Rica
The Public Force of Costa Rica is responsible for law enforcement duties, acting as both a civilian police force and gendarmerie. In addition to ordinary policing, it is responsible for border patrol, counter-insurgency, riot control, tourism security, and coast guard duties.
Cyprus
The
Czech Republic
The main law enforcement agency in the Czech Republic is the Policie ČR, charged with making arrests, investigating crimes, ensuring road and highway security, and other standard policing tasks. Directed by the Policejní prezident, who holds a rank of colonel or general, policie officers hold ranks similar to those of the military. At the municipal level, city police (Městská policie) are funded and directed locally. Sizes of local forces vary and officers have only limited law-enforcement powers, such as traffic enforcement; they can make arrests and must call on the national police to handle serious problems.
Denmark
The main law enforcement agency is the
El Salvador
Law enforcement in El Salvador is a national civilian police. It covers the Salvadoran territory, and it has five divisions (Traffic, Tourism, General Inspection, Community, and its academy). The National Civil Police was constituted on the Article 159 to establish after the Salvadoran Civil War, and maintained by the Ministry of Justice and Public Safety.
Egypt
The Egyptian National Police, a department of the Ministry of Interior, is responsible for law enforcement in Egypt. The Central Security Forces, a paramilitary force, is responsible for assisting the police. The Egyptian Army also has a Military Police Corps divided into 24 battalions.
Estonia
Law enforcement in Estonia is carried out by the Police and Border Guard Board, an agency of the Estonian Interior Ministry. It is divided into the Estonian Police and Estonian Border Guard. The Estonian Police, responsible for civilian law enforcement, is divided into four territorial police units called prefectures and three national units: the Central Criminal Police, the Central Law Enforcement and the Forensic Service Center. The Estonian Border Guard is an armed organization charged with protecting the nation's borders on land and sea.
Ethiopia
The Ethiopian Federal Police is the federal law enforcement agency of Ethiopia. It maintains law and order at the federal level, including riot control, and investigates organized crime. The regions of Ethiopia maintain their own regional police commissions. The Ethiopian Federal Police provides operational support to the regional police commissions, coordinates between them, and sets national policing standards.[36][37]
Fiji
Fiji has a unified national police force, the Fiji Police, responsible for law enforcement throughout the country. The only other police force is a local police service on Rabi Island.
Finland
Law enforcement in
France
France has two national police forces, the
Georgia
The Georgian Police, which is a division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, is responsible for law enforcement in Georgia.[38]
Germany
Germany is a federal republic of sixteen States (Land). Each one of those States has its own police force called Landespolizei (State Police), that provides basic law enforcement and crime fighting services. Each Landespolizei is supervised by the respective State Minister (or, in the City States of Bremen, Hamburg and Berlin, the Senator) of Internal Affairs.
The Federal authorities have law enforcement agencies as well:
- the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA, "Federal Criminal Police Office") which is only responsible for cases which are exceeding the borders of a single State, or for cases of international dimension.
- the uniformed Bundespolizei (BPOL, in casual language also BuPo; "Federal Police"). Until 2005, the BPOL was called Bundesgrenzschutz ("Federal Border Protection"), but after expanded competences (e.g. for the railways) in the 1990s and the abolition of border controls in the European Union, its name was changed to emphasize the law enforcement nature of the corps in an international context.
Depending on the state's laws, the German cities also provide policing agencies like Stadtpolizei (Municipal Police) or Ordnungsamt (local bylaw agency).
Ghana
The Ghana Police Service is the main law enforcement agency of Ghana. It is organized at the national level and is divided into regional commands which report to National Headquarters. The Bureau of National Investigations is responsible for countering organized crime and financial crime, espionage, sabotage, terrorism, hijacking, piracy, and drug trafficking.
Greece
The Hellenic Police Force (
Guatemala
Civilian law enforcement is the responsibility of the national police force, the Policia Nacional Civil (PNC), which is divided into departments. The Armed Forces of Guatemala assist the civilian police in law enforcement tasks.
Hungary
Law enforcement in Hungary was formerly split between the Police (Rendőrség), Border Guards, and the Customs and Excise Authority. In 2008, the border guards were merged with the police service. The police force is maintained by the Minister of Justice.
Iceland
The
India
Since the federal nature of the Constitution of India mandates law and order as a subject of the state, therefore the bulk of the policing lies with the respective
Indonesia
Law enforcement in
Iran
The
Iraq
The Iraqi Police is the law enforcement agency of federal Iraq. Iraqi Kurdistan has a separate police force.
Ireland
The Irish Police force, the Garda Síochána, translates to "Guardians of the Peace of Ireland". The state has one nationwide police force. All routinely uniformed officers are unarmed. The strength of the Garda Síochána is approximately 12,000 officers, of which 3,000 are licensed to carry firearms.
The Garda Síochána operates a number of specialist units including the GASU (Garda Air Support Unit, consisting of two helicopters and a BN-2A aircraft operated by the Irish Air Corps from Casement Aerodrome), Mounted Unit, Dog Unit, Public Order Unit and the anti-terrorism Special Detective Unit. It has a central command and control system for major city areas. Uniformed Gardaí wear stab-proof body armour and carry expandable ASP batons, handcuffs and pepper spray all introduced by the new Garda Inspectorate.
Armed support units include regional Armed Support Units (ASU) and the national Emergency Response Unit (ERU), which are comparable to American SWAT or British CO19 and operate a variety of lethal and non-lethal devices. All Gardaí (Police Officers) who train as detectives carry a sidearm.
Israel
The Israel Police (Mishteret Yisra'el) is the national police force of the State of Israel, responsible for civilian law enforcement. It falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public Security. The Israel Police has a traffic enforcement arm, the National Traffic Police, as well as the Civil Guard ("Mishmar Ezrahi"), a police unit made up of part-time volunteer officers. It also has a gendarme force, the Israel Border Police (MAGAV), which has its own elite counter-terrorist units. The Military Police Corps serves as the military police force of the Israel Defense Forces, responsible for law enforcement among soldiers and guarding military prisons. The Israel Prison Service oversees the Israeli civilian prison system.
Dozens of municipalities maintain their own municipal enforcement units, which are intended to deal with low-level offenses such as petty theft, vandalism, and noise complaints. The personnel of such units, who are called municipal inspectors, do not have arrest powers, but they may issue fines and detain suspects until the police arrive.[39][40]
Italy
Law enforcement in Italy is mainly carried out by different agencies, depending on felony and jurisdiction. On a national level, four police forces operate. The Arma dei Carabinieri (gendarmerie), the Polizia di Stato (national police) and the Guardia di Finanza (customs police, border police and financial police); are the main forces, the only ones with full powers. There are also the Polizia Penitenziaria (prison service), in charge of keeping order in the prison system.
Locally, with jurisdiction only in little felonies, There are also
The Carabinieri and Guardia di Finanza are organized as a military force. In recent years, Carabinieri units have been dispatched all over the world in peacekeeping missions, including Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.
On a daily basis, calling the 112 emergency number only Polizia or carabinieri will answer as they are the only forces in charge of "Pronto Intervento" (non-sanitarian Emergency) and public safety.
Japan
Japan's
Jordan
Law enforcement is carried out by the Public Security Directorate, the national police force which lies under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior.
Kenya
The Kenya Police is responsible for civilian law enforcement. It maintains a number of specialized branches:
- Administration Police - Responsible for protective and border security services along with countering cattle theft and banditry
- Criminal Investigation Department - Investigates complex cases
- General Service Unit - A paramilitary wing of the police
The Kenya Wildlife Service is responsible for wildlife conservation and protection, particularly against poaching, and the Kenya Forest Service protects the forests and enforces revenue measures for exploitation of forest products. The Kenya Prison Service is responsible for guarding prisons.
Lebanon
Law enforcement in Lebanon is the responsibility of the Internal Security Forces.
Luxembourg
The
Previously, the Luxembourgish law enforcement agencies (as well as the Army) were under the command of the Minister of Public Force, a cabinet post that no longer exists.
The Grand Ducal Police was created in its current form on 1 January 2000, when the
The Grand Ducal Police is responsible for ensuring Luxembourg's internal security, fighting crime and corruption, maintaining law and order and enforcing all laws and
Municipal regulations are enforced by "Municipal agents" (French: Agents municipaux; Luxembourgish: Gemengenagenten), who are partly uniformed but always unarmed municipal employees (no police officers) with strictly limited enforcement powers.
Lithuania
Law enforcement in Lithuania is the responsibility of a unified national police force, the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, which is under the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry. From the Police Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which is led by the Police Commissar General, the police force branches out to the National and Municipal Police. The National Police is composed of the criminal police, traffic police, public security force and public police.
Malaysia
The
The force has seven departments, which consist of 2 tasked with police management and logistic with 5 tasked for multi-crimes prevented, intelligence and security service. The riot control force known as Federal Reserve Unit makes up part of the police force.
In addition to the Federal Reserve Unit, the Police maintain 2 paramilitary divisions: the
The Rakan Cop is the Malaysian community police which was launched in 2006.
Malta
The Malta Police Force is the national police force of Malta, and is responsible for all policing functions. It is overseen by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Mauritius
The law enforcement agency of Mauritius is the Mauritius Police Force. The Commissioner of Police (CP) heads the organisation which forms part of the Home Affairs Division of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
Mexico
Most police forces in Mexico can be classified into two general types based on their primary function. They tend to operate as policía judicial (judicial police) or policía preventiva (preventive police). The basic difference being that the policía judicial are usually under the administration of the judicial branch of government (i.e., judges, attorneys general, etc.), whereas the policía preventiva tend to be administered by legislative or executive branches of government (i.e., mayors, or city councils). Historically, the judicial police would investigate crimes that have already occurred, and preventive police would focus their efforts on preventing crimes (by active presence on the streets and random patrols). In recent decades these differences have been blurred considerably.
There are three levels in the Mexican police forces according to their jurisdiction: municipal agencies, under the authority of the mayor (presidente municipal); state, under the authority of the respective state governor (a total of 32 independent agencies); and federal, with jurisdiction throughout the Mexican territory.
Mexican law enforcement agencies, vary from state to state but usually have the hierarchy mentioned below:
- Guardia Nacional (National Guard), since 2019, main federal law enforcement agency, a gendarmeriethat replaced the former civilian Policía Federal (see below)
- Policía Judicial Federal (Federal Judicial Police, 1908-2002), Agencia Federal de Investigación (Federal Investigations Agency, 2001-2012), Policía Federal Ministerial (Federal Ministerial Police, 2009-2019), and Coordinación de Métodos de Investigación (Investigative Methods Coordination, since 2019), investigative agencies under PGR/FGR (Procuraduría/Fiscalía General de la República, the Attorney General of Mexico) authority
- Policía Federal de Caminos (Federal Highway Police, 1928-2000), Policía Federal Preventiva (Federal Preventive Police, 1999-2009), and Policía Federal (Federal Police, 2009-2019) were the former main federal agencies until the formation of National Guard. Its members were famously known as federales in North American slang.
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación (StateInvestigations Agency) under each State's Attorney authority
- Policía Estatal Preventiva (StatePreventive Police; its official name may vary from state to state)
- Policía Municipal Preventiva (Municipal Preventive Police). Most of 2,454 Municipalities of Mexico have its own Police Departament. An exception is the Mexico City Police, in both state and municipal duties throughout the 16 boroughs of Mexico City
Morocco
The
Myanmar
The Myanmar Police Force, which is overseen by the Ministry of Home Affairs, is the national police force of Myanmar. It is divided into State and Divisional Police Forces, which have District Police and Township Police forces under their jurisdiction. There are 16 combat police battalions that carry out general security duties, and 26 Anti-Narcotic Task Forces.
Nauru
The Nauru Police Force is the single police agency, responsible for all law enforcement and internal security tasks.
Netherlands
The
Nepal
The
Nepal Police has total 67,416 police personnel and has 2,344 permanent and 507 temporary police offices and units spread all over the country. The present chief of Nepal Police is Sarbendra Khanal.[42]
New Zealand
The New Zealand Police are charged with enforcing law in New Zealand. They are a single national police force with a broad policing role (community safety, law enforcement & road safety). New Zealand police officers do not normally carry firearms, although access to firearms is available when circumstances dictate. Specialised units of the New Zealand Police such as the Armed Offenders Squad, a SWAT type unit and the Special Tactics Group are also operational for different scenarios that might arise. New Zealand Police work with other government agencies and non-government groups to achieve the best safety outcomes for all New Zealanders.
Nicaragua
The National Police of Nicaragua is responsible for law enforcement, and sometimes works in conjunction with the Nicaraguan military, making it an indirect and rather subtle version of a gendarmerie.
Nigeria
The Nigeria Police Force is the sole civilian police force in Nigeria. It is under the control of the federal government – there are no state or municipal police forces in Nigeria. It has a paramilitary arm, the Nigerian Mobile Police. The Kano State Hisbah Corps is a religious law enforcement agency in Kano State responsible for enforcing Sharia law, but it does not have police authority. Hisbah personnel who observe violations of Sharia are expected to alert the police. The Nigerian Armed Forces have a separate military police force, the Nigerian Corps of Military Police.
Norway
The
Officers of the Norwegian police usually do not carry firearms, making the force one of the few unarmed police organizations in the world. They are instead armed with telescopic batons and pepper spray.[citation needed]
Pakistan
The police in
Panama
The Panamanian National Police, a branch of the Panamanian Public Forces, is responsible for civilian policing functions. It is divided into different police zones across the country.
Papua New Guinea
The Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary is the name of the Police force in Papua New Guinea. There are also 20 mobile squads paramilitary under the Special Services Division of the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary which is headed by a Director. The Director reports to the Assistant Commissioner who reports to the three deputy Commissioners who are under the Commissioner of Police.[43]
Paraguay
The National Police of Paraguay is responsible for law enforcement and internal security. It operates under the auspices of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Peru
The national police force in Peru is called the National Police of Peru (Policía Nacional del Perú) or PNP. They are the state police force, but serve many of the same roles in the cities that local police forces assume in other countries, such as traffic control at intersections. Peruvian cities (or Lima-area districts) each have their own Serenazgo forces, which perform patrol duties like a neighborhood watch and call upon the PNP as needed.
Philippines
The
At the national level, law enforcement in the Philippines is handled by two agencies: the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). Community policing is done by un-armed barangay tanods who are hired and supervised by their local barangays, the smallest elected government in the Philippines. Barangay Tanods are often described as volunteers but they do receive in some places small stipends and benefits such as health care. They have some limited training.
The thirteen operational support units and their respective functions are as follows:
- Maritime Group (MG). This group is responsible to perform all police functions over Philippine Territorial waters, lakes, and rivers along coastal areas to include ports and harbors and small islands for the security and the sustainability development of the maritime environment.
- Intelligence Group (IG). This group serves as the intelligence and counter-intelligence operating unit of the PNP.
- Drug Enforcement Group (DEG). This group arrests drug lords in pursuant with the Anti-illegal drug law.
- Police Security and Protection Group (PSPG). This group provides security to government vital installations, government officials, visiting dignitaries and private individuals authorized to be given protection.
- Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG). This group monitors, investigates, prosecutes all crimes involving economic sabotage, and other crimes of such magnitude and extent as to indicate their commission by highly placed or professional criminal syndicates and organizations. It also conducts organized- crime –control, all major cases involving violations of the revised penal Code, violators of SPECIAL LAWS assigned to them such as Anti-hijacking, Anti-Carnapping and Cybercrimes among others and atrocities committed by Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)/New People's Army (NPA)/National Democratic Front (NDF).
- Special Action Force (SAF). This group is a mobile strike force or a reaction unit to augment regional, provincial, municipal and city police force for civil disturbance control, internal security operations, hostage-taking rescue operations, search and rescue in times of natural calamities, disasters and national emergencies and other special police operations such as ant-hijacking, anti-terrorism, explosives and ordnance disposal. On a special note, the PNP Air Unit is placed under the supervision of SAF.
- Aviation Security Group (AVEGROUP). This group provides security to all airports throughout the country.
- Highway Patrol Group (HPG). This group enforces the traffic laws and regulations, promote safety along the highways, enhances traffic safety consciousness through inter-agency cooperation concerning Police Traffic Safety Engineering, Traffic Safety Education and Traffic Law enforcement functions and develops reforms in the crime prevention aspect against all forms of lawlessness committed along National Highway involving the use of motor vehicles.
- Police-Community Relations Group (PCRG). This group undertakes and orchestrates Police Community Relations program and activities in partnership with concerned government agencies, the community, and volunteer organizations in order to prevent crime and attain a safe and peaceful environment.
- Civil Security Group (CSG). This group regulates business operations and activities of all organized private detectives, watchmen, security guards/agencies and company guard forces. It also supervises the licensing and registration of firearms and explosives.
- Crime Laboratory (CL). This group provides scientific and technical, investigative aide and support to the PNP and other investigative agencies. It also provides crime laboratory examination, evaluation and identification of physical evidence gathered at the crime scene with primary emphasis on medical, biological and physical nature.
- PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG). This Group serves as the primary unit of the PNP in addressing the kidnapping menace in the country and in handling hostage situations. And
- PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP- ACG). This Group is responsible for the implementation of pertinent laws on cybercrimes and anti-cybercrime campaigns of the PNP.[46]
- PNP Air Unit. Provides helicopter to PNP personnels.
Poland
Law enforcement agencies in Poland include:
- Policja(police)
- Straż Graniczna (SG) (border guard), also have coast guard department.
- tasks
- military provost)
- Centralne Biuro Antykorupcyjne (CBA) – law enforcement agency designed to fight against corruption
- public prosecutor office (chief section of the Prokuratura is Prokuratura Generalna)
- Służba Celna – Poland's customs
- Straż miejskaCity Guard
Portugal
There are three main police forces in Portugal:
- Polícia de Segurança Pública (PSP – Public Security Police) – a civil uniformed police, responsible mainly for the policing in the large urban areas;
- Guarda Nacional Republicana(GNR – Republican National Guard) – a gendarmerie type force, that works mainly in the countryside and small towns;
- Polícia Judiciária (PJ – Judiciary Police) – responsible for the major criminal investigations.
There are also other smaller specialized police services, like the Autoridade de Segurança Alimentar e Económica (ASAE – Food and Economic Safety Authority), the Polícia Marítima (Maritime Police), the Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras (SEF – Foreign and Border Service) and the polícias municipais (municipal police).
Qatar
The Ministry of Interior oversees the various law enforcement units. The Rescue Police Department, or Al-Fazaa, is responsible for most civilian policing. The Juvenile Police Department is responsible for investigating juvenile crime. The Airport Security Department oversees entry and exit from Qatar. Internal security, espionage, and sedition cases are handled by Qatar State Security.
Romania
General Inspectorate of Romanian Police is the central unit of police in Romania, which manages, guides, supports and controls the activity of the Romanian police units, investigates and analyses very serious crimes related to organized crime, economic, financial or banking criminality, or to other crimes which make the object of the criminal cases investigated by the Prosecutor's Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice, and which has any other attributions assigned by law.
The organizational chart of General Inspectorate of Romanian Police includes general directorates, directorates, services and, offices established by the order of the Minister of Administration and Interior.
The General Inspectorate is under the command of a General Inspector appointed by the Minister of Administration and Interior. Since March 2015, the General Inspector of the Police is appointed by the Prime Minister and also holds the rank of Secretary of State.[47]
Russia
The
The standard Russian police baton is made of rubber. The normal service uniform is black with red piping and hat band. Fur hats and heavy greatcoats are worn in winter.
Rwanda
The Rwanda National Police is responsible for law enforcement in Rwanda. It is divided into the northern, southern, eastern, and western regional commands and has numerous specialized units such as the Special Intervention Force, Canine Unit, Special Airport Police Unit, Revenue Protection Unit, and Police Marine Unit.[48]
Saudi Arabia
Regular policing activities are the responsibility of the Department of Public Safety, the highly centralized national police force. Domestic security and counterintelligence is handled by the Mabahith, or secret police. The Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice is the national religious police force of Saudi Arabia, enforcing Islamic codes of behavior.
Serbia
The Police of the Republic of Serbia is responsible for all local and national law enforcement services in Serbia. It is managed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Singapore
The
Slovenia
Somalia
The Somali Police Force is the main civil law enforcement agency of Somalia. Law enforcement in the autonomous region of Puntland is provided by the Puntland Police Force, a subdivision of the Puntland Security Force.
South Africa
The South African Police Service is responsible for providing policing services to the public of South Africa at 1154 police stations, divided across nine provinces.
South Korea
The
The NPA is headquartered in Seoul and is divided into 14 local police agencies, including the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. Local police agencies are not independent of the national police. There were 96,000 police officers as of 2004[update]
Spain
Policing in Spain is carried out by a combination of national, regional and local bodies:
- The Civil Guard patrols rural areas as well as highways and ports and investigates crimes there. It is a gendarmerie force and has military status. Civil Guard personnel operate from garrison posts that are called casas cuartel ("home-garrisons") which are both minor residential garrisons and fully equipped Police stations. It answers to both the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defence.
- The National Police Corpsis the national civilian police force of Spain. It has a civilian status and deals with criminal offences and public order in urban areas. It includes special anti-riot units. It answers to the Ministry of Interior.
- The municipal police operate in most cities and important towns, concentrating on preventing crime, settling minor incidents, traffic control, and, intelligence gathering. These forces answer to the local governments.
- In some Autonomous Communities there is an autonomous police force, under the rule of the regional government, which carries out the duties of the Civil Guard and the National Police. These police forces are the Mossos d'Esquadra in Catalonia, the Ertzaintza in the Basque Country, and the Chartered Police in Navarre. They answer to their respective autonomous governments. The Basque province of Alava retains Spain's oldest police force, the Miñones ("Minions") founded in 1793. Although now an integral division of the Basque Ertzaintza, it answers to the provincial government of Alava.
- Additionally, there is a "special administrative police" which is not under the Ministry of the Interior nor the Ministry of Defence, but the Ministry of the Treasury. The Customs Surveillance Service is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of cases involving contraband, illegal drugs, financial evasion and violations, money laundering, surveillance for financial police purposes and the provision of judicial police services. Despite their civilian status, the officers are trained by both the National Police and the Navy Marines.
Sri Lanka
The national police service in Sri Lanka is the Sri Lanka Police. The police maintains an elite paramilitary commando force, the Special Task Force, which has taken security duties around the island. Other agencies which have limited police powers are Sri Lanka Customs, the Sri Lanka Coast Guard, and the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption. The military has police powers limited to military personnel, mainly for internal investigation and guarding military facilities.
Sudan
Sudan's main national law enforcement agency is the United Police Forces, responsible for responsible for civil defense, criminal investigations, immigration and customs, passport control, traffic control, and wildlife protection. Police divisions operate within state commands, and state police commissioners report directly to the Director-General of the Police, who answers to the Minister of Interior.[49]
Sweden
The Swedish Police Authority (in Swedish: Polismyndigheten, but is usually referred to as Polisen) is the central administrative authority responsible for the Swedish police that operates under the Ministry of Justice. The Swedish Police Authority replaced the National Police Board in 2015. Due to the 2015 reform of the police, the Swedish Security Service became a separate entity under the Ministry of Justice, instead of previously being part of the National Police Board. The reform also resulted in Rikskriminalpolisen (National Criminal Investigations Department) being dissolved and its duties transferred to the National Operations Department. The 21 police regions that were established according to the Counties of Sweden prior to the reform were replaced by six police regions, which were instead divided into 27 local police districts.
Swedish police officers are always armed with a 9 mm Sig Sauer handgun, a telescopic baton and a can of pepper spray.
The Swedish Police Authority maintains three well-trained SWAT elements, the first being the elite counter-terrorism National Task Force which is the equivalent of Germany's GSG 9 and the French GIGN. The second unit being the Reinforced Regional Task Force (previously known as Piketen), which is trained to handle riot control, hostage situations and high-risk arrests in three of Sweden's major cities; Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. The third element is composed of small, less well-equipped special response units under the jurisdictions of their respective local police districts, they are simply called Regional Task Forces, and they serve officially under the Reinforced Regional Task Force.
Switzerland
The police in Switzerland is mainly the responsibility of the 26 cantons, each of which operates a cantonal police service. Some municipalities have their own municipal police departments as well, but most of them are responsible for general law and order and parking enforcement only while in some larger cities they carry out traffic control as well. Only the cities of Zürich, Winterthur, and Lausanne have municipal police departments which provide a full policing service. The Swiss federal government operates the Federal Office of Police, which coordinates between cantonal police forces. It maintains an investigative arm, the Federal Criminal Police, which includes the Task Force TIGRIS tactical unit. The Swiss military also operates a military police force.
Syria
The Syrian government's civilian police service (Syrian Public Security Police) is managed by the Criminal Security Directorate, a branch of the Ministry of Interior. It has five police divisions and branches:
- The Administrative Police, also known as Neighbourhood Police: responsible for general security and deals with non-emergency situations.
- The Emergency Division, deals with emergency situations and operates roving patrols.
- Criminal Security Department
- Riot Division
- Electronic Criminal Branch, in charge of combating computer- and web-based crime. According to pro-government newspaper Al-Watan, the Electronic Criminal Branch has a dedicated criminal laboratory.
The capital
Taiwan (Republic of China)
The
Tanzania
The Tanzania Police Force is the national police force of Tanzania, responsible for civilian law enforcement. It is run by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The force is divided into five departments, each headed by a commissioner.
Thailand
The Royal Thai Police is the national police force of Thailand. It is subdivided into several regions and services, each enjoying their own powers.
- Crime Suppression Division, Thai FBI
- Immigration
- Traffic police
Tunisia
The Tunisian National Police, which is overseen by the Ministry of Interior, is mainly responsible for law enforcement tasks. The Judicial Police is responsible for criminal investigations. The Tunisian National Guard and Presidential Guard help provide internal security.[50]
Turkey
Law enforcement is Turkey is carried out by five separate bodies. The
Uganda
The
Ukraine
The National Police of Ukraine is the sole civilian police service of Ukraine. It is operated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
United Arab Emirates
Law enforcement in the United Arab Emirates is divided regionally with each Emirate having its own independent police force. For example, the
United Kingdom
Widely regarded as the home of the first modern police force, law enforcement in the United Kingdom is based on the long-standing philosophy of
Scotland now has a single national force – the Police Service of Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Seirbheis Phoilis na h-Alba), commonly known as Police Scotland. It replaced eight former territorial police forces and the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency in April 2013 and is overseen by the Scottish Police Authority, under the terms of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012.
The
From October 2013 the
There are also three
The majority of British police are never routinely armed with firearms, relying on an extendable baton and in some cases Tasers, with specialist armed units always on patrol and called in only when necessary. The exceptions are the Ministry of Defence Police, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary and the Police Service of Northern Ireland which are routinely armed.
Uniquely in Britain, there are police forces of Crown Dependencies such as the Isle of Man and States of Jersey and Guernsey, who have police forces that share resources with the UK police, whilst having a separate administration within their own governments. The British Overseas Territories, have their own police forces which are generally based on the British model of policing.
The British Armed Forces also maintain military police units: the Royal Military Police, Royal Air Force Police, Royal Navy Police, and Royal Marines Police. Military police personnel are not constables under UK law and only have police powers in relation to service personnel.
United States
In the United States, the
Uruguay
The National Police of Uruguay is responsible for maintaining law and order. It is overseen by the Ministry of the Interior.
Venezuela
The Bolivarian National Police (Venezuelan National Police) is responsible for law enforcement duties in national jurisdiction. Likewise, there are state police bodies in charge of the autonomy of each state and its state constitution; some examples are the Autonomous Police Institute of the State of Miranda, or the Bolivarian Police Force of the State of Zulia. In addition to these, there is also the Scientific, Penal, and Criminal Investigation Service Corps and the Bailiff Corps (Spanish: Cuerpo de Alguacilazgo), the latter serves the Venezuelan judiciary and performs police duties in the courts, with powers similar to that of the United States Marshals Service.
Vietnam
The single law enforcement agency in Vietnam is the
Zambia
The Zambia Police Service is the single civilian law enforcement agency of Zambia. It is under the portfolio of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Zimbabwe
The Zimbabwe Republic Police is the national police service of Zimbabwe. It has various specialized units such as the Duty Uniformed Branch (DUB), Criminal Investigation Department (CID), National Traffic Branch, Police Protection Unit(PPU) and Support Unit also known as riot police or Gondo harishayi.
See also
- List of basic law enforcement topics
- List of law enforcement agencies
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