National Police (France)
National Police Police nationale | |
Patch of the National Police. | |
Motto | Pro patria vigilant[1] |
Agency overview | |
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Formed | July 9, 1966 |
Preceding agency | Sûreté nationale (1944–1966) |
Employees | 144,000 (in 2011) |
Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
Jurisdictional structure | |
National agency | France |
Size | 551,695 km² |
Population | 65 million (approx.) |
Governing body | Cabinet of France |
General nature | |
Operational structure | |
Overviewed by | Direction générale de la police nationale |
Headquarters | Paris, France |
Minister responsible | Manuel Valls, Ministry of the Interior |
Agency executive | Claude Baland, Director-General |
Directorates | 11
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Facilities | |
Helicopters | 0 see Sécurité Civile |
Website | |
Official website (French) | |
The National Police (French: Police nationale), formerly the Sûreté nationale, is one of two national police forces and the main civil law enforcement agency of France, with primary jurisdiction in cities and large towns. The other main agency is the military Gendarmerie, with primary jurisdiction in smaller towns and rural and border areas. The National Police comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior and has about 145,699 employees (in April 2008).
The National Police operate mostly in large cities and towns. In that context:
- it conducts security operations (patrols, traffic control, identity checks)
- under the orders and supervision of the investigating magistrates of the judiciary, it conducts criminal enquiries, serves search warrants, etc.; it maintains specific services ("judicial police") for criminal enquiries.
Organization
The police is commanded by the director-general (directeur général de la police nationale) who is currently Claude Baland. The director-general is directly in charge of the General Directorate of the National Police (French: Direction Générale de la Police nationale) (DGPN).[2]
The police is then sub-divided into directorates:
- Direction des ressources et des compétences de la police nationale (Directorate of Ressources and Competences of the National Police; DRCPN):[3] fusion of the Direction de la formation de police nationale (Directorate of Training of the National Police; DFPN) and Direction de l'administration de la police nationale (Directorate of Administration of the National Police; DAPN)
- Direction centrale de la police judiciaire (Central Directorate of Judicial Police; DCPJ): major criminal investigations (this mission, in the Paris Area is fulfilled by the Direction Régionale de Police Judiciaire de Paris known as "36 Quai des Orfèvres") (the national headquarters are actually located at 11 rue des Saussaies, in the Interior Ministry).
- Sous-direction de l'anti-terrorisme (Anti-Terrorism Sub-Directorate; SDAT): elite counter-terrorist task-force.
- The National Financial Investigation, which includes all the National Specialized Investigation Offices except the National Itinerant Criminality Struggle Office (managed by the Gendarmerie Nationale)
- The National Sub-directorate of forensics.
- Direction centrale de la sécurité publique (Central Directorate of Public Security; DCSP): patrol and response, minor criminal investigations, approximatively 80% of the workforce.
- Groupes d'Intervention de la Police Nationale (Intervention Groups of the National Police; GIPN): Nine regional SWAT teams.
- Direction centrale de la police aux frontières (Central Directorate of Border Police; DCPAF): performs identity checks with La douane française and handles illegal immigration.
- Inspection générale de la police nationale (General Inspectorate of the National Police; IPGN): headed by the Inspector General and responsible for internal affairs. In the Paris Area, these tasks are assigned to a dedicated service—the Inspection Générale des Services (General Inspectorate of the Services).
- Direction centrale des compagnies républicaines de sécurité (Central Directorate of the Republican Security Companies; DCCRS): riot police, motorway police, and mountain rescue; commonly referred to as the CRS.
- Service de coopération technique internationale de police (Technical International Police Co-operation Service; SCTIP).
- Service de protection des hautes personnalités (Important Persons Protection Service; SPHP): VIP protection such as foreign diplomats and also responsible for the protection of the President of the French Republic through the 'Groupe de Sécurité de la Présidence de la République'.
- The Unité de Coordination de la Lutte Antiterroriste (UCLAT; Counterterrorism Struggle Coordination Unit) and its Recherche Assistance Intervention Dissuasion (Research, Assistance, Intervention, Deterrence; RAID) unit.
The Préfet de Police, currently Bernard Boucault , under direct orders of the Minister manages the Préfecture de Police de Paris which includes all police and security services in Paris and neighboring departments, those services are not under control of the director-general. The police forces in the other departments of the Île-de-France are under direct command of the Préfet who are under supervision of the Préfet de Police. Nevertheless, those units are under control of the director-general
Former directorates
As of 1 July 2008, the following two National Police directorates:
- Direction de la surveillance du territoire (Directorate of Territorial Surveillance; DST) - counter-intelligence, counterespionage, counterterrorism
- Direction centrale des renseignements généraux (Central Directorate of General Information; DCRG or RG) - records, research, analysis, and policing gambling and horse racing
were merged into one single domestic intelligence agency titled the Direction centrale du renseignement intérieur (DCRI). The DCRI was placed directly under the Ministry of the Interior.[4] The current director is Claude Baland, who had also formerly served as Intelligence director of the DGSE and before a member of the DST.
Ranks
The National Police is divided into three corps, in the terminology of the French Civil Service, in ascending order of seniority:
- The Corps de maîtrise et d'application (Authority and Enforcement Corps) corresponds approximately to the enlisted and non-commissioned ranks in a military force, or to constables and sergeants in a British-style civil police force.
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Gardien de la paix stagiaire (keeper of the peace, intern") 1st year after school.
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Gardien de la paix (keeper of the peace)
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Brigadier
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Brigadier-chef
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Major
- The Corps de commandement et d'encadrement (Command and Management Corps) corresponds approximately to the lower commissioned ranks of a military force, or to grades of inspector in a British-style civil police force. These ranks were previously known as inspecteurs if detectives or officiers de la paix if uniformed, although CRS officers always used the current ranks.
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Lieutenant student
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Lieutenant intern
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Lieutenant (formerly Officier de la paix or Inspecteur)
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Capitaine (formerly Officer de la paix principal or Inspecteur principal)
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Commandant (formerly Commandant or Inspecteur divisionnaire)
- The Corps de conception et de direction (Conception and Direction Corps) corresponds approximately to the higher commissioned ranks of a military force, or to grades of superintendent and chief officers in a British-style civil police force.
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Commissaire de police (Superintendent)
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Commissaire divisionnaire (Divisional Superintendent)
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Contrôleur général (Controller General)
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Inspecteur général (Inspector General)
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Directeur des services actifs (Director of the Active Services)
All the ranks insignia may be worn either on the shoulders or on the chest. In the latter they are square-shaped.
Prior to 1995 two civilian corps ("Inspecteurs" and "Enquêteurs") existed in which plain-clothes officers were given the training and authority to conduct investigations. The closest Anglo-American equivalent is the detective.
Equipment
Weapons
In 1935, the French police used a variety of side arms, both revolvers and semi-automatic pistols, notably comprising the MAS 1873, the MAS 1892, the FN M1900, Ruby pistols, and a variety of privately purchased weapons.
Immediately after the Second World War, a variety of military side arms was used, often captured weapons provided by the Army or French-produced German-designed weapons, such as the Mauser HSc or the Walther P38 for sidearms, and the Karabiner 98k rifle.
In 1951, a standardisation was performed on the RR 51 pistol[5] in 7.65mm, and on the MAS-38 and MAT-49 for sub-machine guns. From 1953, in the context of heightening violence of the Algeria War, CRS units were upgraded to the 9mm MAC Mle 1950
In the early 1960x, large-caliber revolvers were introduced, culminating with the introduction of the Manurhin MR 73 and the Ruger SP101. In the 80s, a process to standardize revolvers was initiated. The 1970s also saw the introduction of assault rifles (such as the SIG SG 543) to fend off heavily armed organised crime and terrorism.
In the 2000s, the police started switching to semi-automatic pistols and to the 9mm parabellum cartridge. For some years, the standard sidearm in the National Police and the Gendarmerie Nationale was the PAMAS G1, which was French licensed and made. In 2003 both agencies made the biggest small arms contract since the Second World War[6] for about 250,000 SIG SIG Sauer Pro SP 2022s, a custom-tailored variant of the SIG Pro, replacing the PAMAS-G1 and several other pistols in service. The weapons are planned to stay in service until the year 2022, hence the weapon name.
For greater threats the police use slightly modified Ruger Mini-14s purchased in the 1970s.
Cars
While the vast majority of vehicles are screen printed French brand (mainly Renault, Citroen and Peugeot), some service vehicles are provided by Ford and Opel. Plain clothes officers or specialised branches use vehicles from a variety of builders.
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Renault Megane III
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Police Motorcycle Yamaha FJR 1300
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Unmarked anti crime unit (Peugeot 308)
See also
References
- ↑ Police Nationale - Une force d'action et de protection au service de tous
- ↑
- ↑ "Direction des Ressources et des Compétences de la Police Nationale / Organisation - Police nationale - Ministère de l'Intérieur" (in French). Interieur.gouv.fr. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
- ↑ Official announcement of the DCRI's launch on the website of the French Ministry of the Interior.
- ↑ "Nouvelle page 0". Littlegun.info. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
- ↑ Ayoob, Massad F.: The Gun Digest Book of SIG-Sauer: A Complete Look at SIG-Sauer Pistols, page 80. Gun Digest, 2004.
External links
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- Official site of the French National Police
- Official site of the French Ministry of Interior (French)
- Unofficial site of the National Police (French)
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