Kaitsepolitseiamet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kaitsepolitseiamet (commonly abbreviated KAPO or Kaitsepolitsei), translated as The Security Police board in English, is the government institution that protects the Estonian constitutional regime and performs counterintelligence in Estonia. Its tasks also include the prevention and discovery of crimes against the parliamentary democracy in Estonia. Kaitsepolitseiamet is in the administrative field of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
[edit] History
Kaitsepolitseiamet was established on April 12, 1920 by the Government Of Estonia. From 1925 to 1940 the institution was known as Poliitiline politsei (abbreviated PolPol). When the Soviet Union annexed Estonia in June 17, 1940 the PolPol was one of the first institutions which was practically in corpore repressed. During the Soviet rule from 1940-1941 and 1944-1991, the PolPol was replaced by local organs of its counterparts in the Soviet Union: KGB, NKVD, MVD etc.
The institution was re-established as Kaitsepolitseiamet in March 1, 1991, during the collapse of the Soviet Union and the process of Estonia regaining its independence, as a department of the Estonian Police (Politseiamet). It began operating as a separate institution in June 18, 1993. According to the law of security services, which took effect on March 1, 2001, the status of the Kaitsepolitseiamet changed from a police institution to a security service.
