| Myanmar Police Force | ||||||||||||||||
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Myanmar Police Force, formally known as The People's Police Force (Burmese: ပြည်သူ့ရဲတပ်ဖွဲ့; MLCTS: Pyi Thu Yae Tup Pwe), was established in 1964 as independent department under Ministry of Home Affairs. It was reorganised on 1 October 1995 and informally become part of Tatmadaw. Current Director General of Myanmar Police Force is Brigadier General Khin Yi with its headquarters at Yangon. Its command structure is based on established civil jurisdictions. Each of Myanmar's seven states and seven divisions has their own Police Forces with headquarters in the respective capital cities.[1]
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Police in Burma have a long history, and include the national police force of Burma, as well as smaller functions and jurisdictions.
The Indian Imperial Police was the primary law enforcement in Burma until 1937, when it was split from British India.
In 1872 the third mayor of Mergui District, Sir Ashly Din (1870-1875) assigned the first police officer to be stationed at Maliwan, a village 24 miles north of current Victoria Point.
Perhaps the most famous policeman in Burma from this period is the author George Orwell, who in 1922 joined the Indian Imperial Police in Burma.
On March 16, 1988 following the killing of two students during the pro-democracy demonstrations, students marching on Prome Road were confronted near Inya Lake by the Lon Htein security force riot police and many beaten to death or drowned.
The national police are made up of several smaller entities, including
There are 14 State and Divisional Police Forces and three additional State/Division Police Forces commanded by Police Colonels. Their jurisdictions are divided according to the Civil Administration. The States and Divisions, Additional States have the same status.
Each State and Divisional Police Force consist of four components.
The District Police Forces are classified into two classes depending on the area, population and development, namely A and B Class. Commanders of the A Class District Police Forces are Police Lieutenant Colonels and B Classes are Police Majors. Commanders of Township Police Forces are Police Captains and Police Station Officers are Police Lieutenants.
State and Divisional Police Forces of Burma are as follow:
| State and Division | Headquarters |
|---|---|
| Karen State | Pa-An |
| Kachin State | Myitkyina |
| Chin State | Hakha |
| Mon State | Moulmein |
| Arakan State | Akyab |
| Shan State | Taunggyi |
| Yangon Division | Yangon |
| Sagaing Division | Sagaing |
| Mandalay Division | Mandalay |
| Magwe Division | Magwe |
| Pegu Division | Pegu |
| Tenasserim Division | Tavoy |
| Irrawaddy Division | Bassein |
There are also three additional State Police Forces, with their headquarters at Lashio (Shan State North), Kengtung (Shane State East) and Prome (Pegu West) in Pegu Division. Members of all these forces are assigned to positions at District and Police station level.
There are four Special Departments, in which the first two Departments are headed by the Police Brigadier Generals and the rest two are by Police Colonels.
There are three main Training Centers, one Central Training Institute of Myanmar Police Force and two Police Training Depots. The State and Divisional Police Forces have their own training centers for refresher courses and Junior Leader (NCO) Courses.
Bachelor Degree holders from Distance Learning University were disqualified to sit SIP exam.Thus vast amount of bachelor holding other rank police personal upset for their future.
|- | Deputy Superintendent Cadet Course | | Sub-Inspector Cadet Course | |- | Surveillance Officer Course | |- | Investigation Officer Course | |- | Police Station Officer Course | | Staff Officer Course | | Township Police Commander Course | |- | District Police Commander Course | |}
The No.1 Police Training Depot is commanded by a Police Lieutenant Colonel and undertakes:
| Course Name | Duration |
|---|---|
| Basic Training Course for Police Sergeants | 9 months |
| Warrant Officer and Police Sergeants Course | 12 Weeks |
| Basic Training Course for Constables | 6 Months |
The No.2 Police Training Depot is also cmmanded by a Police Lieutenant Colonel, and undertakes only Basic Training Course for Constables, which normally takes around 6 months to complete.
The following units were formed with personnel formerly in the People's Militia Units.
There are sixteen Police Battalions to carry out general security duties under the command of Battalion Control Command. The Battalion Commandants are Police Lieutenant Colonels. As the populace of the cities including Yangon and Mandalay have been increased day after day, problems on social, economy and politics are risen up that could lead to emergence of civil unrest and sabotage. It is necessary to prevent from destruction and harassment, VIP and project factories and workshops, security of diplomats and their embassies. Seven of these Police Battalions are situated in the Yangon Divisional areas and two in Mandalay and three in Arakan, one in Sagaing, one in Mon State, one in Pegu, one in Prome.
These specially-trained and combat capable battalions are formed with personnel from former Riot Security Police, better known as "Lon Htein" Units. Each battalion consists of 500+ personnel and these battalions are supported by two support battalions, which include signal and medical units. These battalions structure are similar to that of Army's Light Infantry Battalions and they are subordonate to their respective Regional Military Commands.[2]
26 special anti-narcotic task forces have been established under the direction of the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control.
Myanmar Police Force uses wide range of weapons and ammunitions, ranging from Second World War vintage to modern sophisticated weapons. Combat battalions are armed with relatively modern small arms such as M16, AK-47, Type 56 (seized from ethnic and narco-insugents) and Ka Pa Sa BA63 assault rifle, which are being phased out from the Army in favour of 5.56mm MA series assault rifles. They have also been issued with 7.62mm Bren and BA-64 (Heavy Barrel version of G3 with bipod) Light Machine Guns for section support, BA-100 sniper rifles (locally manufactured version of G3A3ZF Sniper Rifle), night vision goggles and other counter terrorists and special forces equipment. Heavy Weapons companies of these battalions are equipped with 81 mm and 60 mm mortars.
Members of MPF who are stationed in local police stations within States and Divisional Police Forces and those providing general guards duties at various government establishments and public places such as airport, train and bus stations are issued with Second World War vintage weapons such as British .303 Enfield Rifles, M1 Garand rifles, M1 Carbines, BA-52 submachine guns (locally manufactured Italian TZ-45 submachine gun) and Sten Gun.
Officers and detectives have been issued with various side arms such as the Enfield revolver, Smith & Wesson M&P, 0.38 Colt revolver and Browning HP.
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