Gendarmerie

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A gendarmerie (pronounced /ʒɒnˈdɑːmɜːriː/) is a military body charged with police duties among civilian populations. The members of such a body are called gendarmes.

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[edit] Etymology

The word "gendarme" comes from Old French gens d'armes, meaning men-at-arms. Historically, the term referred to men authorized to carry arms, a right that was extremely limited. The word gained policing connotations particularly during the nineteenth century.

In the United Kingdom, there is a body called the Her Majesty's Bodyguard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms. "Gentlemen at Arms" is in fact an almost perfect etymological equivalent to the term "gendarme". This body is, however, purely ceremonial, and is not considered a gendarmerie.

[edit] Title and status

Italian carabinieri in Florence
Italian carabinieri in Florence

These forces are normally titled "gendarmerie", but gendarmeries may bear other titles, for instance Carabiniers in Italy and Chile, or Guardia Civil in Spain.

Some forces which are no longer considered military retain the title "gendarmerie" for reasons of tradition. For instance, the French language title of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is Gendarmerie royale du Canada (GRC) (i.e. Royal Gendarmerie of Canada) because it was traditionally a military force (although not part of the army) and because it retains the honorific status of a military force. The Argentine Gendarmerie is a military force (in terms of training, identity and public perception, and it was involved in combat in the Falklands War), but for legal purposes is a "security force", not an "armed force", because this is necessary under Argentine law in order to allow jurisdiction over the civilian population.

Since every country uses institutional terms such as "gendarmerie" as it wishes, there are cases in which the term may become confusing. For instance, the Swiss cantonal "gendarmeries" are not military, and are in fact the ordinary police of French-speaking cantons. In Chile, confusingly, the word "gendarmerie" can for historic reasons be used to refer to the prison service, while as previously mentioned the actual gendarmerie force is called the "carabiniers".

As a result of their duties within the civilian population, gendarmeries are sometimes described as "para-military" rather than "military" forces (essentially in the English-speaking world where policing is rarely associated with military forces) although this description rarely corresponds to their official status and capabilities. Gendarmes are often deployed in military situations, sometimes in their own country, and often in humanitarian deployments abroad.

A gendarmerie may come under the authority of a ministry of defence (e.g. France) or a ministry of the interior (e.g. Argentina), or even both at once (e.g. Chile). Generally there is some coordination between a ministry of defence and a ministry of the interior over use of gendarmes. In countries where the gendarmerie and civilian police co-exist with overlapping responsibilities, there may exist rivalries and tensions between the forces, and substantially different reputations in popular culture and relations with the public; in some countries, for historical or other reasons, the gendarmerie may have a reputation for violence or brutality distinct from the civilian police.

Gendarmeries are police services, but in many countries (e.g. France) the word "police" normally implies civilian police. Gendarmeries are military police, however the term "military police" can be misleading, since in English it carries strong implications of policing within the military ("provost" policing), which is not the basic purpose of a gendarmerie (although in many countries it is a task which gendarmes carry out).

In some cases, a police service's military links are ambiguous and it can be unclear whether a force should be defined as a gendarmerie or not (e.g. Mexican Policia Federal Preventiva, Brazilian Polícia Militar, or the former South African Police until 1994). Services such as the Italian Guardia di Finanza would not normally be defined as a gendarmerie (but at times might be) since the service is both of ambiguous military status and does not have general policing duties in the civilian population. In Russia, the local police or militsia (considered a civilian force despite the military origin of the name) may have ranks, uniforms and organization which closely parallel the military's, and even have combat-capable subdivisions and weaponry of a distinctly non-civilian character.

[edit] Role in modern conflict

Gendarmes play an important role re-establishing law and order in conflict areas, a task which is suited to their purpose, training and capabilities. Gendarmeries are widely used in peacekeeping operations, for instance in the former Yugoslavia.

In Haiti, during the rebellion of 2004, brutal armed gangs took over much of the country. The capital city, Port-au-Prince, was particularly chaotic, and law and order broke down. In view of the nature of the violence, the international intervention force responding to the crisis included substantial numbers of French gendarmes, apparently on the insistence of the other countries contributing to the force.

It might be argued that the absence of any gendarmerie in Iraq at the time of the fall of Baghdad contributed to both widespread disorder and the creation of the violent situation which continues today. The fall of Baghdad in April 2003 saw the outbreak of disorder, including looting, violence and the settling of old sectarian and tribal grudges. The initial absence of Iraqi police services contributed to the disorder, and US Army and Marine personnel in the city were not particularly trained for the task of policing and re-establishing law and order. The immediate disorder created a momentum of violence that benefited the insurgency and facilitated its operations, and gave a great boost to the morale and recruitment of insurgent forces, as well as allowing the creation of heavily-armed criminal organisations. Subsequently, the coalition forces included Italian Carabinieri.

[edit] French influence

French Gendarmerie on parade: Republican Guard cavalry
French Gendarmerie on parade: Republican Guard cavalry

The use of military organisations to police civilian populations is common to many time periods and cultures. Although it cannot be considered a French concept, the French gendarmerie has been the most influential model of such an organisation.

Many countries that were once under French influence have a gendarmerie. For instance, both Belgium and Austria had gendarmeries through Napoleonic influence, but both these gendarmeries, have merged with the civil police, in 2001 and 2005 respectively. Many former French colonies, especially in Africa, also have gendarmeries.

A common gendarmerie symbol is a flaming grenade, which was first used as a gendarmerie symbol by the French.

[edit] List of Gendarmeries

     European countries with a gendarmerie      European countries without a gendarmerie
     European countries with a gendarmerie      European countries without a gendarmerie

[edit] List of modern gendarmeries

The coat of arms of the Italian Carabinieri, a classic example of a gendarmerie force.
The coat of arms of the Italian Carabinieri, a classic example of a gendarmerie force.

[edit] List of former gendarmeries

[edit] See also

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