Swiss Gendarmerie

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The Swiss gendarmerie are the uniformed police of the French Cantons of Switzerland, and their members are not soldiers but civilians.

[edit] History

The first bodies of Swiss gendarmes result from the gendarmes of foot of Napoleon Bonaparte present in Switzerland during the French occupation under Swiss republic.

[edit] Organization

Currently, the police authority is exercised by the cantons, which are like Sovereign states. The cantonal police force is generally subdivided in two bodies:

• the gendarmerie, the uniformed organization in which performs the tasks of police patrol and response, and may conduct judicial enquiries.
• the surete, civil investigators who work in the Criminal Investigation Department (average and serious crime)

However in certain cantons, the gendarmes have the ability to conduct local of judicial enquiries.