The Rijkswacht/Gendarmerie was the former paramilitary police force of Belgium. The Rijkswacht/Gendarmerie became a civilian police organisation in 1992, a status retained until January 1, 2001, when it was, together with the other existing police forces in Belgium, abolished and replaced by the Local Police and Federal Police.
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In 1795, the Belgian provinces came under French rule. It was at this time that the Rijkswacht/Gendarmerie was created. This military force had been created a short time before in France itself to replace the Marechaussee (mounted corps of marshals) of the former Monarchy. The legislation which organised the new gendarmerie service in Belgium was a law dated April 17 1798, which remained into force until 1957.
In 1814 the Belgian provinces again became part of the Netherlands, ruled by Prince William of Orange. The Dutch renamed the Gendarmerie as the “Marechaussee” and reorganised the force.
In 1830 the Belgian revolution occurred. After obtaining its independence the new Belgian state created its own national Rijkswacht/Gendarmerie on the basis of the already existing constabulary. The Rijkswachters/Gendarmes operated throughout the entire country. From its creation, the Rijkswacht/Gendarmerie was formally part of the Belgian Army.
The major strikes and tense social conditions of the 1930s brought important changes in the organization of the Rijkswacht/Gendarmerie, in particular through the expansion of the mobile units created in 1913.
During the Second World War, the Rijkswacht/Gendarmerie was restricted to the role of administrative and legal police force, primarily concerned with road traffic. The majority of the Rijkswachters/Gendarmes refused to collaborate with the German occupiers. It is believed that individual gendarmes assisted the Belgian Resistance. These actions were not tolerated by the occupation authorities and from 1942 onwards the corps was deprived of many of its functions.
After the war, the Service was reorganized. New units were created, and at the end of 1957 new legislation relating to the fundamental role of the Rijkswacht/Gendarmerie was passed, envisaged in the Constitution of 1830. This law confirmed the functions of the Rijkswacht/Gendarmerie and its independence from the administrative authorities. The Rijkswacht/Gendarmerie was separated from the Belgian Army Territorial Defense Force, and became a fourth department within the military. The Rijkswacht/Gendarmerie was also authorised to create its own training establishments.
During the 1960s conditions of service improved considerably. This period also saw a major increase in serious crimes (holdups, drugs, terrorism, etc). The Central Bureau of Investigations(CRB-Centraal Recherche Bureau (Dutch), BCR-Bureau Central des Recherches) was created, plus a centralized radio network. Tracker dogs were employed for the first time.
During the 1980s, the Rijkswacht/Gendarmerie suffered serious problems. Much of its equipment was outdated, it was significantly understrength, and there were serious financial issues. It was also the period of fighting Communist cells (CCC), serious and deadly criminal activities by gangs (like the Nijvel gang, a case that was never solved) and hooliganism (Heysel drama). Several parliamantary commissions blamed the Rijkswacht/Gendarmerie for bad investigation and law enforcement work in these cases. The Rijkswacht/Gendarmerie was threatened with disbandment, and drastic measurements were taken to reorganise several units and to improve public relations.
At the beginning of 1992 the Rijkswacht was demilitarised, which caused major changes in policies, procedures, and staff regulations. Demilitarisation allowed the force to concentrate all its resources on civil police work.
Previously under the supervision and responsibility of the Minister of Defense, the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Justice, the Gendarmerie lost its military status on January 1, 1992, when a major restructuring of the force was made. The reorganised Rijkswacht/Gendarmerie had a solely civilian policing role and its military functions, as well as the supervision of the Ministry of Defence were removed. This restructuring occurred after the 'black' 1980s of the Nijvel gang, Heysel Stadium disaster, Cellules Communistes Combattantes (CCC), and other criminal and terrorist activity, against which the Gendarmerie was deemed ineffective.
At the end of the 1990s, following adverse reports arising from the Dutroux Affair, the Belgian Government decided to dissolve all the existing police forces. The parliamentary commission, which investigated the errors that were made during the search for the missing children, stated that the three police organisations did not work effectively and efficiently together. There were problems with cooperation and vital information was not exchanged.
Parliament, both the majority and the opposition, decided to abolish the existing structures, and created a new police organisation, structured in two departments: the Federal Police and the Local Police. In 2001, the Rijkswacht/Gendarmerie was dissolved.
The ranks of the Rijkswacht/Gendarmerie were:
Senior and General Officer Ranks
Lower Officer Ranks
Higher Petty Officer Ranks
Petty Officer Ranks
Ranks in training
During much of its history the Rijkswacht/Gendarmerie wore a distinctive dark blue and red uniform with high-collared tunics, white aiguillettes and wide topped kepis, dating from the nineteenth century (see photograph above). This was retained as full dress wear until the late 1960s but was thereafter replaced by a modern uniform comprising a dark blue peaked cap with red piping, dark blue coat with open collar and red Gendarmerie insignia, a light blue shirt with tie, dark blue trousers with red piping (a single stripe on the side of the leg) and the distinctive shoulder rank insignia.
All modern Belgian Police officers wear a "soft" civilian style uniform in keeping with the image required by the Community Oriented Policing-strategy.
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