Law Enforcement By Country
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In many countries, particularly those with a federal system of government, there may be several
law enforcement agencies A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...
,
police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
or police-like organizations, each serving different levels of government and enforcing different subsets of the applicable law.


List by country


Afghanistan

The
Islamic Emirate Army The Army of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (), also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be t ...
, the national military of Afghanistan under the current
Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
government, is responsible for civilian law enforcement and border protection.


Albania

The Albanian State Police serve as the country's primary police force, and one of three policing services managed by Albanian
Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...
. The Albanian State Police operates various subdivisions depending on purpose. Other ministries also manage a police force, including the
Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
, the
Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...
, and the Ministry of Tourism and Environment.


Algeria

Algeria has two police forces, the Directorate General for National Security, which is responsible for policing urban areas, and the
National Gendarmerie The National Gendarmerie (french: Gendarmerie nationale, ) is one of two national law enforcement forces of France, along with the National Police. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Minis ...
, a branch of the military, which is responsible for policing rural areas. Algeria also has municipal guards whose primary duty is to protect villages and act as an auxiliary force to the police.


Argentina

In
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
the most important law enforcement organisation is the
Argentine Federal Police The Argentine Federal Police ( es, Policía Federal Argentina or PFA) is the national civil police force of the Argentine federal government. The PFA has detachments throughout the country. Until January 1, 2017, it also acted as the local la ...
(with a jurisdiction and organization similar to the FBI in the USA) with jurisdiction in all Argentine territories. Argentina is a Federal Republic divided into 23 provinces and one federal district, and as a result, provincial police forces (equivalent to state police in the US) carry out most routine police work, except in the capital city of Buenos Aires (the federal district), which is policed by the
Buenos Aires City Police The Buenos Aires City Police (In Spanish: Policía de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires) is the police force under the authority of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. It started to operate in 2017 following the merger of the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Pol ...
. A few other cities also have city police forces. The
Argentine National Gendarmerie The Argentine National Gendarmerie ( es, Gendarmería Nacional Argentina, GNA) is the national gendarmerie force and corps of border guards of the Argentine Republic. It has a strength of 70,000. The gendarmerie is primarily a frontier guard forc ...
is responsible for border security, securing places of national strategic importance, assisting provincial police forces in maintaining public security in rural areas, and fighting crimes such as drug trafficking, smuggling, and terrorism. The Airport Security Police is responsible for policing duties in national public airports. The
Argentine Naval Prefecture The Argentine Naval Prefecture ( es, Prefectura Naval Argentina or PNA) is a service of Argentina's Security Ministry charged with protecting the country's rivers and maritime territory. It therefore fulfills the functions of other countries' coa ...
acts as a
coast guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...
and polices navigable rivers.


Armenia

The
Police of Armenia The Police of the Republic of Armenia () is the national police of Armenia. The acting head is Vahe Ghazaryan, in office since 8 June 2020. History Soviet era The first police service of Armenia was formed in 1918, under the Ministry of Intern ...
is the national civilian law enforcement agency of Armenia. It is divided into a police department for the capital city of
Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...
and one for each of the 10 marzer, or administrative divisions.


Australia

The majority of policing work is carried out by the police forces of the six states that make up the Australian federation, such as the
New South Wales Police Force The New South Wales Police Force (NSW Police Force; previously the New South Wales Police Service and New South Wales Police) is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Divided into Police Area Commands (P ...
, the
Victoria Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victo ...
, the
Queensland Police Service The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for policing the Australian state of Queensland. In 1990, the Queensland Police Force was officially renamed the Queensland Police Service and the old motto ...
, the
Western Australian Police The Western Australia Police Force, colloquially WAPOL, provides police services throughout the state of Western Australia, an area of 2.5 million square kilometres, the world's largest non-federated area of jurisdiction, with a population ...
, The
South Australian Police South Australia Police (SAPOL) is the police force of the Australian state of South Australia. SAPOL is an independent statutory agency of the Government of South Australia directed by the Commissioner of Police, who reports to the Minister for ...
, the
Tasmania Police Tasmania Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian state of Tasmania. Established in 1899, the force has more than 1,300 officers policing Tasmania's population of over half a million people. History Colonial history Prior ...
and the
Northern Territory Police The Northern Territory Police Force is the police body that has legal jurisdiction over the Northern Territory of Australia. This police service has 1,537 police members (as at 31 July 2019) made up of 79 senior sergeants, 228 sergeants, 839 con ...
. The
Australian Federal Police The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government with the unique role of investigating crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth of Australia. Th ...
are responsible for policing duties in the Australian Capital Territory, and investigating crimes relating to federal criminal law (particularly crimes with an international dimension) nationwide.


Austria

The policing work is carried out basically by federal agencies. The
Federal Police A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...
''(Bundespolizei)'' is the uniformed force, the investigative work is done by the regional divisions of the Federal Criminal Police Office ''(Bundeskriminalamt)'', the ''Landeskriminalamt''. Besides the federal agencies, some cities have a
Municipal Police Municipal police, city police, or local police are law enforcement agencies that are under the control of local government. This includes the municipal government, where it is the smallest administrative subdivision. They receive funding ...
''(Stadtpolizei)'' as well, having the same power as the federal police only restricted by the city boundaries.


Azerbaijan

The National Police of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which is administered by the
Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...
, is the civilian police force of Azerbaijan. The Prosecutor's Office is responsible for criminal investigations. The Ministry of Taxes,
Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...
, Ministry of Emergency Situations, and
State Border Service The State Border Service of Azerbaijan Republic ( az, Azərbaycan Respublikası Dövlət Sərhəd Xidməti), also known as Border Guard of Azerbaijan, is a governmental law enforcement agency in charge of protecting the borders of Azerbaijan. The C ...
maintain internal investigation offices which are responsible for dealing with crimes in specific areas.


Bahrain

Law enforcement in Bahrain is delegated to the
Public Security Forces The Public Security Forces (PSF), formerly known as the Bahrain State Police, are the principal Bahraini law enforcement arm of the Ministry of Interior. They are commanded by Maj. Gen. Tarek Al Hasan and include all Ministry of Interior field u ...
, which are divided into different units and departments including the police departments of the four
Governorates of Bahrain Bahrain is divided into four Governorates: the Capital, Northern, Southern and Muharraq. Until September 2014, there were five, when the Central Governorate was abolished. Each governorate is governed by a Governor, appointed by the Prime Mini ...
, the
Special Security Force Command The Special Security Force Command ( ar, قيادة قوة الأمن الخاصة) (SSFC) is a paramilitary law enforcement body in Bahrain under the command of the Ministry of the Interior. The SSFC is more commonly referred to as the "Special ...
, Traffic Police, and Coast Guard. The Public Security Forces are an arm of the
Ministry of Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...
.


Bangladesh

The
Bangladesh Police The Bangladesh Police ( bn, বাংলাদেশ পুলিশ) of the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a law enforcement agency, operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It plays a crucial role in maintaining peace, and enforcement ...
is the main law enforcement agency of Bangladesh. It is administered under the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of Bangladesh. It plays a crucial role in maintaining peace, and enforcement of law and order within Bangladesh. Though the police are primarily concerned with the maintenance of law and order and security of persons and property of individuals, they also play a big role in the criminal justice system.


Barbados

The
Barbados Police Service The Barbados Police Service (BPS), previously called the Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF), is the law enforcement agency in Barbados, as established under the Police Act, Cap. 167. Richard Boyce is currently Commissioner of the Police. The BP ...
(BPS) is the main agency tasked with maintaining local law and order in the country of
Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
. The police force may in times of need call upon the
Barbados Defence Force The Barbados Defence Force (BDF) is the name given to the combined armed forces of Barbados. The BDF was established 15 August 1979, and has responsibility for the territorial defence and internal security of the island. The headquarters for the ...
(BDF) and/or
Regional Security System The Regional Security System (RSS) is an international agreement for the defence and security of the eastern Caribbean region with future expansion planned with South America. History The Regional Security System was created in 1982 to counter ...
for additional support.


Belgium

The majority of policing work in
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
is carried out by the local police forces. The
Federal Police A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...
is responsible for policing and investigating serious and organized crimes nationwide. Both forces are autonomous and subordinate to different authorities but are linked through common recruiting, training, and logistical support.


Bhutan

The
Royal Bhutan Police The Royal Bhutan Police ( dz, རྒྱལ་གཞུང་འབྲུག་གི་འགག་སྡེ་; ) is the national police force of the Kingdom of Bhutan. It is responsible for maintaining law and order and prevention of crime i ...
is responsible for ordinary policing, and in administering and maintaining the prisons.


Botswana

The
Botswana Police Service The Botswana Police Service is the police service of Botswana. History Colonial era The service has its origins in the ''Bechuanaland Mounted Police'', which was formed on 1 July 1884. The ''Bechuanaland Border Police'' were formed on 4 Aug 1885. ...
is the sole civilian law enforcement agency of Botswana. It is divided into four regional divisions and seventeen district commands. It has a paramilitary branch, the Special Support Group (SSG), which is run on military lines. The
Botswana Prison Service The Botswana Prison Service (BPS) is the corrections agency of Botswana. It holds pre-trial and convicted prisoners.Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities within the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Republika Srpska. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina consists ...
and the
Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Feder ...
each maintain separate policies on law enforcement. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has ten
cantonal The 26 cantons of Switzerland (german: Kanton; french: canton ; it, cantone; Sursilvan and Surmiran: ; Vallader and Puter: ; Sutsilvan: ; Rumantsch Grischun: ) are the member states of the Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Con ...
police forces, each under the canton's Ministry of Interior, and a federation-wide police force, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Police, which is a specialized force covering specific crimes and those that cross cantonal borders. The Republika Srpska has a single centralized police force. The
Brčko District Brčko District ( bs, Brčko Distrikt; hr, Brčko Distrikt; sr, Брчко Дистрикт, ), officially the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, Brčko Distrikt Bosne i Hercegovine; hr, Brčko Distrikt Bosne i Hercegovine; ), i ...
has its own police force. Bosnia and Herzegovina has two national law enforcement agencies, the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) and the State Border Service.


Brazil

There are three federal police services: the
Brazilian Federal Police The Federal Police of Brazil (Portuguese: ''Polícia Federal'') is a federal law enforcement agency of Brazil and one of the three national police forces. The other two are the Federal Highway Police, and the National Force. From 1944 to 1967 it ...
, the
Brazilian Federal Highway Police The Brazilian Federal Highway Police (''Polícia Rodoviária Federal'' or ''PRF'') is a federal highway patrol, subordinate to the justice ministry, Ministry of Justice, whose main function is fighting crime on Brazilian federal roads and highwa ...
and the Brazilian Federal Railroad Police, which have been inactive for years. Each
state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
has Military Police/''
Polícia Militar Military Police ( pt, Polícia Militar, , also known as ''PM'', ) are the preventive state police of the states and of the Federal District of Brazil. The Military Police units are the main ostensive police force at the state level and are respo ...
'' and Civil Police/'' Polícia Civil'', both under the command of the state's governor. Despite their names, the Military Police are public order police, and the Civil Police investigative police. Lastly, more than 1200 cities have
Municipal Guards Watchmen were organised groups of men, usually authorised by a state, government, city, or society, to deter criminal activity and provide law enforcement as well as traditionally perform the services of public safety, fire watch, crime preventi ...
. The armed forces have their own provost services.


Bulgaria

A number of law enforcement agencies operate in
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
. The
Ministry of Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...
oversees the
National Police Service National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...
is in charge of regular policing, the Central Office for Combating Organized Crime, which investigates organized crime and terrorism, the
National Gendarmerie The National Gendarmerie (french: Gendarmerie nationale, ) is one of two national law enforcement forces of France, along with the National Police. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Minis ...
, and the Border Police Service. The National Investigative Service, which investigates serious crimes, is part of the judicial system.


Burundi

The National Police of Burundi is the lone civilian police service responsible for law enforcement across the country. It is divided into numerous branches including: * Internal Security Police (Police de sécurité intérieure) * Judicial Police (Police judiciaire) * Air Police (Police de l'Air) * Border and Aliens Police (Police des frontières et des étrangers) ( Prison Police (Police pénitentiaire)


Cambodia

The National Police of Cambodia (''Nokorbal Chéat'') is Cambodia's police force which is under the
Ministry of Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...
. It is divided into four autonomous units and five central departments. The
Royal Gendarmerie of Cambodia The Royal Gendarmerie of Cambodia or Royal Cambodian Gendarmerie ( km, កងរាជអាវុធហត្ថ, ), or "Military Police", is a branch of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and it is responsible for the maintenance of public orde ...
serves as Cambodia's military police force, and has internal security functions such as counter-terrorism, countering violent groups, and suppressing prison riots.


Canada

In Canada, the development of criminal legislation falls under federal jurisdiction, but the enforcement of these laws is generally a
provincial Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...
responsibility. In contrast to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
or
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, there are only two specialized criminal law enforcement agencies in Canada, and the vast majority of criminal law enforcement is conducted by local police services, which maintain specialized criminal investigation units in addition to their community safety mandate. Other law enforcement is provided by special constabularies, which typically provide specialized police services to transit systems, universities, parks, and municipalities, and civil law enforcement agencies, which usually do not have a policing role. Every province in Canada, with the exception of
Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
, downloads the responsibility for local policing onto municipalities, which can operate their own police forces, share regional police services with surrounding communities, or enter into a contract with the provincial government for police services. Some
First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...
can also establish independent police services, funded entirely by the provincial and federal governments, but these services have been historically underfunded compared to non-Indigenous police forces and the program that funds Indigenous police agencies was under review as of 2022. Since the 1990s, an increasing share of Canadian police forces and municipalities have adopted tiered police service delivery models, which reduce the responsibilities of police services by off-loading certain duties — such as forensic investigations, mental health crisis response, traffic enforcement, or low-risk calls for service — to non-police specialists or unarmed peace officers. There is also a federal police force, the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
(RCMP;
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
: ''Gendarmerie Royale du Canada; GRC''), responsible for the enforcement of criminal legislation that concerns the entire federation, such as anti-terrorism operations; border patrols between official crossings; several police-related programs, such as the Canadian Police College and
Canadian Firearms Program Canadian Firearms Program (CFP; french: Programme canadien des armes à feu, ''PCAF''), formerly Canada Firearms Centre is a Canadian government program within the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Policing Support Services, responsible for licensing ...
; domestic counter-espionage with the assistance of the
Canadian Security Intelligence Service The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS, ; french: Service canadien du renseignement de sécurité, ''SCRS'') is Canada's primary national intelligence agency. It is responsible for collecting, analysing, reporting and disseminating int ...
; and, uniquely and controversially, the delivery of provincial and municipal police services under contract. The RCMP provides contracted police services to eight provinces, all three Canadian territories, around 600 Indigenous communities, and about 150 municipalities directly.


China, People's Republic of China

In the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
(PRC), civilian police is mainly done by the People's Police, a branch within the Ministry of Public Security organs, typically through local public security bureaus (PSBs) all under the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), with of assistance of the paramilitary force, the
People's Armed Police ) , abbreviation = PAP ("People's Armed Police") CAPF ("Chinese Armed Police Force"), formerly abbreviated''Wujing'' ( zh , s = 武警 , p = Wǔjǐng , l = Armed Police , labels = no ), or WJ as on vehicle license plates , patch ...
(PAP). The People's Police has two other executive branches under the Ministry of State Security (MSS) and the
Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...
(MOJ), as well as two Judicial Police branches under the
Supreme People's Court The Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China (SPC; ) is the highest court of the People's Republic of China. It hears appeals of cases from the high people's courts and is the trial court for cases about matters of national ...
(SPC) and the
Supreme People's Procuratorate The Supreme People's Procuratorate () is the highest national agency responsible for legal prosecution and investigation in the People's Republic of China. Conceived initially in 1949 as the Supreme People's Prosecutor's Office, the agency was r ...
(SPP), while the PAP, including the
China Coast Guard China Coast Guard (CCG; ) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the People's Armed Police of China. It is currently the world's largest coast guard. Function The CCG is known to perform mostly c ...
(CCG), is under the sole administration of the Central Military Commission (CMC) from 2018.


Hong Kong

As a
special administrative region of China The special administrative regions (SAR) of the People's Republic of China are one of the provincial-level administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China directly under the control of its Central People's Government (State Co ...
,
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
maintains a high degree of autonomy from the Central Government of the PRC, such as maintaining its own law enforcement service. The
Hong Kong Police Force The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest Hong Kong Disciplined Services, disciplined service under the Security Bureau (Hong Kong), Security Bureau of Hong Kong. The Royal Hong Kong Po ...
() operate under local legislations and the
Hong Kong Basic Law The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China is a national law of China that serves as the organic law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Comprising nine chapters, 160 ...
and within the traditional constabulary concept of preserving life and property, preventing and detecting crime and keeping the peace. For times of emergency the force has a paramilitary capability. The Commissioner of Police reports to the
Secretary for Security The Secretary for Security is the member of the Government of Hong Kong in charge of the Security Bureau, which is responsible for public safety, security, and immigration matters. The post was created in 1973 and since the Principal Offic ...
, who is responsible for all disciplined services in Hong Kong.


Macau

As a
special administrative region of China The special administrative regions (SAR) of the People's Republic of China are one of the provincial-level administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China directly under the control of its Central People's Government (State Co ...
,
Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
maintains a high degree of autonomy from the Central Government of the PRC, such as maintaining its own law enforcement service. There are two branches of police forces in Macau: # ''Corpo de Polícia de Segurança Pública'' (CPSP – Public Security Police Force) – a civil uniformed police force, responsible for rule and order in the entire territory. # ''Polícia Judiciária'' (PJ – Judiciary Police) – responsible for major criminal investigations. In addition, ''Serviços de Polícia Unitários'' (SPU – Unitary Police Service) leads, commands and coordinates the anti-crime operations carried out by CPSP and PJ.


Colombia

The
National Police of Colombia The National Police of Colombia (Spanish: ''Policía Nacional de Colombia'') is the national police force of the Republic of Colombia. Although the National Police is not part of the Military Forces of Colombia (Army, Navy, and Air Force), it c ...
(Spanish: Policía Nacional de Colombia) is the national police force of Colombia. Although the National Police is not part of the Military Forces of Colombia (Army, Navy, and Air Force), it constitutes along with them the "Public Force" and is also controlled by the Ministry of Defense. Unlike many nations that use a tiered system of law enforcement, the National Police is the only civilian police force in Colombia. The force's official functions are to protect the Colombian nation, enforce the law by constitutional mandate, maintain and guarantee the necessary conditions for public freedoms and rights and ensure peaceful cohabitation among the population. For these purposes, the police have rural police divisions (the "carabineros"), traffic police, investigations, anti-drugs, intelligence, citizen security, internal control, among others. The police force divides its functions into local and
departmental ''Departmental'' is a 1980 Australian TV movie based on a play by Mervyn Rutherford. It was part of the ABC's Australian Theatre Festival.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p43 Reviews were poor ...
deconcentrated units, such as the police departments (which act as departmental police forces and in some geographical areas under the command of the governors) and the metropolitan police forces that operate in the main cities; there are also
police station A police station (sometimes called a "station house" or just "house") is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, al ...
s in each
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
and the police officers who operate within these are under the command of the respective mayor's office. Annual budget US$3.6 to 4 billion There are 147,000 employees. Although in Colombia the main force for compliance with civil law is the National Police and its divisions, there are other smaller units such as the Colombia Migration Unit in charge of the
Foreign Ministry In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
, the Technical Investigation Corps in charge of the
Attorney General's Office The Attorney General's Office (AGO) is a department of His Majesty's Government that supports the Attorney General and their deputy, the Solicitor General (together, the Law officers of the Crown in England and Wales). It is sometimes referred ...
, and some local transit agents who fulfill some law enforcement functions in their respective areas.


Costa Rica

The
Public Force of Costa Rica The Public Force of Costa Rica ( es, Fuerza Pública de Costa Rica) is the Costa Rican national law enforcement force, which performs policing and border patrol functions. History On 1 December 1948, President José Figueres Ferrer of Costa ...
is responsible for law enforcement duties, acting as both a civilian police force and gendarmerie. In addition to ordinary policing, it is responsible for border patrol, counter-insurgency, riot control, tourism security, and coast guard duties.


Cyprus

The
Cyprus Police The Cyprus Police (Greek: ), is the National Police Service of the Republic of Cyprus and is under the Ministry of Justice and Public Order since 1993. The duties and responsibilities of the Cyprus Police are set out in the amended Police Law ( ...
is responsible for civilian law enforcement. Its specialized units include the
Cyprus Police Aviation Unit The Cyprus Police Aviation Unit (CPAU) ( el, Μονάδα Αεροπορικών Επιχειρήσεων (Μ.Α.ΕΠ.), is the police aviation unit of the Headquarters of Cyprus Police, the national police of the Republic of Cyprus and was estab ...
, the
Cyprus Port and Marine Police The Cyprus Port & Marine Police ( el, Λιμενική και Ναυτική Αστυνομία, tr, Liman ve Deniz Polisi) is the marine police and the civilian Coast Guard wing of the Cyprus Police, and are tasked with the primary mission of la ...
, the
Emergency Response Unit An Emergency Response Unit is a name for a law enforcement or other civil government entity that is trained and equipped to respond quickly to emergency situations. In some instances, such a designation is given to a Special Weapons and Tactics uni ...
, and Presidential Guard. The
Cyprus Prisons Department The Cyprus Prisons Department (Greek: ) is the Department of Corrections of the Republic of Cyprus. A government agency under the Ministry of Justice and Public Order responsible for overseeing the incarceration of persons convicted of crimes. ...
guards inmates.


Czech Republic

The main law enforcement agency in the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
is the '' Policie ČR'', charged with making arrests, investigating crimes, ensuring road and highway security, and other standard policing tasks. Directed by the ''Policejní prezident'', who holds a rank of
colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
or general, policie officers hold ranks similar to those of the military. At the municipal level, city police (''Městská policie'') are funded and directed locally. Sizes of local forces vary and officers have only limited law-enforcement powers, such as traffic enforcement; they can make arrests and must call on the national police to handle serious problems.


Denmark

The main law enforcement agency is the
Police of Denmark The Police of Denmark ( da, Politiet, fo, Løgreglan, kl, Politiit) is the Danish National Police force, and the interior part of the Danish security forces (the Danish military being the exterior) in the Kingdom ( The Danish Realm: Denma ...
(da: ''Politiet''), under the Danish Ministry of Justice, including 12 common police districts, the state nationwide police force ''
Rigspolitiet The National Police of Denmark ( da, Rigspolitiet, fo, Landløgregla, kl, Naalagaaffiup Politiivi) is the upper most level of the Police of Denmark within the Kingdom (The unity of the Realm: Denmark (proper), Greenland, Faroe Islands). Admini ...
'', the national intelligence service ''
Politiets Efterretningstjeneste Politiets Efterretningstjeneste (PET) (literally: Police Intelligence Service, official name in English: Danish Security and Intelligence Service, or DSIS) is the national security and intelligence agency of Denmark. The agency focuses solely o ...
'' and the special tactical forces ''
Politiets Aktionsstyrke Politiets Aktionsstyrke (AKS, English: ''The Special Intervention Unit'') is the police tactical unit of the Danish National Police. It is meant to handle extraordinarily difficult or life-threatening criminal situations, such as terrorism, host ...
''. Further more a Danish military police branch (da: ''Militærpolitiet'') and Danish home guard unit '' Politihjemmeværnet'' exists.


El Salvador

Law enforcement in El Salvador is a national civilian police. It covers the Salvadoran territory, and it has five divisions (Traffic, Tourism, General Inspection, Community, and its academy). The National Civil Police was constituted on the Article 159 to establish after the Salvadoran Civil War, and maintained by the Ministry of Justice and Public Safety.


Egypt

The
Egyptian National Police , ') , mottotranslated = Police of the people ( ar, شرطة الشعب, ') Counter-terrorism and hostage rescue Combat all types of crimes Maintaining public health Achieve the tranquility of the citizen , formedyear = 1878 ( years) , for ...
, a department of the
Ministry of Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...
, is responsible for law enforcement in Egypt. The
Central Security Forces The General Security and Central Security Forces ( ar, قوات الأمن العام و الأمن المركزي, Quwwāt al-Amn al- Amm wa Quwwāt al-Amn al-Markazī, often shortened to ar, الأمن المركزي, Al-Amn al-Markazī) is ...
, a paramilitary force, is responsible for assisting the police. The Egyptian Army also has a Military Police Corps divided into 24 battalions.


Estonia

Law enforcement in Estonia is carried out by the
Police and Border Guard Board The Police and Border Guard Board ( et, Politsei- ja Piirivalveamet) is a unified national governmental agency within the Estonian Ministry of Interior and is responsible for law enforcement and internal security in the Republic of Estonia. The ...
, an agency of the Estonian Interior Ministry. It is divided into the Estonian Police and Estonian Border Guard. The Estonian Police, responsible for civilian law enforcement, is divided into four territorial police units called prefectures and three national units: the Central Criminal Police, the Central Law Enforcement and the Forensic Service Center. The Estonian Border Guard is an armed organization charged with protecting the nation's borders on land and sea.


Ethiopia

The Ethiopian Federal Police is the federal law enforcement agency of Ethiopia. It maintains law and order at the federal level, including riot control, and investigates organized crime. The
regions of Ethiopia Ethiopia is a federation subdivided into ethno-linguistically based regional states (Amharic: plural: ክልሎች ''kililoch''; singular: ክልል ''kilil''; Oromo: singular: ''Naannoo''; plural: ''Naannolee'') and chartered cities (Amharic: p ...
maintain their own regional police commissions. The Ethiopian Federal Police provides operational support to the regional police commissions, coordinates between them, and sets national policing standards.


Fiji

Fiji has a unified national police force, the Fiji Police, responsible for law enforcement throughout the country. The only other police force is a local police service on
Rabi Island Rabi (pronounced ) is a volcano, volcanic island in northern Fiji. It is an outlier to Taveuni (5 kilometers west), in the Vanua Levu Group. It covers an area of 66.3 square kilometers, reaching a maximum altitude of 463 meters and has a shoreli ...
.


Finland

Law enforcement in
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
is under the jurisdiction of the Police of Finland, Finnish Police. The National Bureau of Investigation (Finland), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) ( fi, Keskusrikospoliisi, KRP) is a national unit tasked with "crime prevention and provision of expert services." Civil protection, including counter-terrorism, is handled by The Finnish Security Intelligence Service (FSIS) ( fi, Suojelupoliisi, SUPO).


France

France has two national police forces, the National Police (France), National Police and National Gendarmerie. The National Police is the main civil law enforcement agency in France, with primary jurisdiction in cities and large towns. The National Gendarmerie, a branch of the French Armed Forces under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior (France), Ministry of the Interior, polices smaller towns, rural, and suburban areas. About 3,500 municipalities also employ Municipal Police (France), municipal police, who are under the direct authority of the mayor. The national capital Paris is policed by the Paris Police Prefecture, a subdivision of the Ministry of the Interior. Some rural communes also have a ''Garde champêtre'', or rural guard, responsible for limited local patrol and environmental protection. Only certain designated police officers within the two national police forces have the power to conduct criminal investigations, which are supervised by investigative magistrates.


Georgia

The Georgian Police, which is a division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, Ministry of Internal Affairs, is responsible for law enforcement in Georgia.


Germany

Germany is a federal republic of sixteen States of Germany, States ''(Land)''. Each one of those States has its own police force called Landespolizei (State Police), that provides basic law enforcement and crime fighting services. Each ''Landespolizei'' is supervised by the respective State Minister (or, in the City States of Bremen (state), Bremen, Hamburg and Berlin, the Senator) of Internal Affairs. The Federal authorities have law enforcement agencies as well: * the ''Federal Criminal Police Office (Germany), Bundeskriminalamt'' (''BKA'', "Federal Criminal Police Office") which is only responsible for cases which are exceeding the borders of a single State, or for cases of international dimension. * the uniformed ''Federal Police (Germany), Bundespolizei'' (BPOL, in casual language also ''BuPo''; "Federal Police"). Until 2005, the BPOL was called ''Bundesgrenzschutz'' ("Federal Border Protection"), but after expanded competences (e.g. for the railways) in the 1990s and the abolition of border controls in the European Union, its name was changed to emphasize the law enforcement nature of the corps in an international context. Depending on the state's laws, the German cities also provide policing agencies like ''Municipal police (Germany), Stadtpolizei'' (Municipal Police) or ''Bylaw enforcement officer, Ordnungsamt'' (local bylaw agency).


Ghana

The Ghana Police Service is the main law enforcement agency of Ghana. It is organized at the national level and is divided into regional commands which report to National Headquarters. The Bureau of National Investigations is responsible for countering organized crime and financial crime, espionage, sabotage, terrorism, hijacking, piracy, and drug trafficking.


Greece

The Hellenic Police Force ( el, αστυνομία; ) is the police force of the Hellenic Republic. Tourism Police are an integral part of the Hellenic Police (ELAS), consisting of men and women specially trained and competent to offer tourists information and help, whenever they have any problems. They are trained in resolving minor differences between tourists and commercial enterprises. They all speak foreign languages, including English. They are distinguished by a shoulder badge displaying Tourism Police on their uniforms.


Guatemala

Civilian law enforcement is the responsibility of the national police force, the Policia Nacional Civil (PNC), which is divided into departments. The Armed Forces of Guatemala assist the civilian police in law enforcement tasks.


Hungary

Law enforcement in Hungary was formerly split between the Police (Rendőrség), Border Guards, and the Customs and Excise Authority. In 2008, the border guards were merged with the police service. The police force is maintained by the Ministry of Justice (Hungary), Minister of Justice.


Iceland

The Icelandic Police (''Lögreglan'') is Iceland's police force which is under the Ministry of the Interior. The National Commissioner is the overall commander, but he answers to the minister. The police is divided into 9 districts. Iceland also has a Directorate of Customs (''Tollgæslan''), whose job is to watch and guard imports and exports and more, which is under the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs. Icelandic police constables generally do not carry firearms, instead they carry telescopic batons and pepper spray. The National Commissioner has a Víkingasveitin, Special operations unit which is called the Viking Squad (''Víkingasveitin'').


India

India has numerous law enforcement agencies. At the federal Government of India, Union level, the agencies are part of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, and support the states in their duties. India's federal police services controlled by the Ministry of Home Affairs are known as the Central Armed Police Forces and consist of the Border Security Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, National Security Guard, and Sashastra Seema Bal. Three other federal agencies with law enforcement tasks - the Indian Police Service, Indian Forest Service, and Indian Administrative Service, are considered the All India Services: they are recruited at the federal level but serve under both the federal government and the states and union territories and also Indian Revenue Service, are considered the Central Civil Services: they are recruited and serve under federal level only. There are numerous other federal law enforcement agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation, National Investigation Agency, and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence. Since the federal nature of the Constitution of India mandates law and order as a subject of the state, therefore the bulk of the policing lies with the respective States and territories of India, states and union territories. Each state and union territory police force is headed by a Director General of Police, who is an Indian Police Service officer. Bigger cities operate their own metropolitan police services, also under the state.


Indonesia

Law enforcement in Indonesia is mainly performed by the Indonesian National Police (POLRI), together with other law enforcement agencies such as the Indonesia Forest Rangers, Remote Islands and Coastal Development Police, and Agricultural and Animal Quarantine Police, which are under the command of a certain Cabinet of Indonesia#Current Cabinet, ministry or State-owned enterprise, State-owned company (BUMN) which perform policing duties for a certain public service, these law enforcement agencies are under supervision and are trained by the Indonesian National Police. The Indonesian National Police is basically the Indonesia, national civilian police force of the country responsible for enforcing law and order of the state. There are also Municipal Police (Indonesia), municipal police units controlled by local governments. The Indonesian military maintains a Military Police Corps (Indonesia), Military Police Corps.


Iran

The Law Enforcement Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran is the civil law enforcement agency of Iran. It has numerous agencies including the Iranian Prevention Police, Prevention Police, Iranian Security Police, Security Police, Iranian Traffic Police, Traffic Police, Iranian Cyber Police, Cyber Police, Iranian Anti-Narcotics Police, Anti-Narcotics Police, Iranian Police Criminal Investigation Department, Criminal Investigation Department, and Iranian Police Special Units, Special Units. The Guidance Patrol enforces Iranian dress code laws. All military police agencies are overseen by the Central Provost of Islamic Republic of Iran Army.


Iraq

The Iraqi Police is the law enforcement agency of federal Iraq. Iraqi Kurdistan has a separate police force.


Ireland

The Irish Police force, the Garda Síochána, translates to "Guardians of the Peace of Ireland". The state has one nationwide police force. All routinely uniformed officers are unarmed. The strength of the Garda Síochána is approximately 12,000 officers, of which 3,000 are licensed to carry firearms. The Garda Síochána operates a number of specialist units including the Garda Air Support Unit, GASU (Garda Air Support Unit, consisting of two helicopters and a BN-2A aircraft operated by the Irish Air Corps from Casement Aerodrome), Garda Mounted Unit, Mounted Unit, Garda Dog Unit, Dog Unit, Garda Public Order Unit, Public Order Unit and the anti-terrorism Special Detective Unit. It has a central command and control system for major city areas. Uniformed Gardaí wear stab-proof body armour and carry expandable ASP batons, handcuffs and pepper spray all introduced by the new Garda Inspectorate. Armed support units include regional Garda Armed Support Unit, Armed Support Units (ASU) and the national Garda Emergency Response Unit, Emergency Response Unit (ERU), which are comparable to American SWAT or British CO19 and operate a variety of lethal and non-lethal devices. All Gardaí (Police Officers) who train as detectives carry a sidearm.


Israel

The Israel Police (''Mishteret Yisra'el'') is the national police force of the State of Israel, responsible for civilian law enforcement. It falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public Security. The Israel Police has a traffic enforcement arm, the National Traffic Police, as well as the Civil Guard (Israel), Civil Guard ("Mishmar Ezrahi"), a police unit made up of part-time volunteer officers. It also has a gendarme force, the Israel Border Police (MAGAV), which has its own elite counter-terrorist units. The Military Police Corps (Israel), Military Police Corps serves as the military police force of the Israel Defense Forces, responsible for law enforcement among soldiers and guarding military prisons. The Israel Prison Service oversees the Israeli civilian prison system. Dozens of municipalities maintain their own municipal enforcement units, which are intended to deal with low-level offenses such as petty theft, vandalism, and noise complaints. The personnel of such units, who are called municipal inspectors, do not have arrest powers, but they may issue fines and detain suspects until the police arrive.


Italy

Law enforcement in Italy is mainly carried out by different agencies, depending on felony and jurisdiction. On a national level, four police forces operate. The ''Carabinieri, Arma dei Carabinieri'' (gendarmerie), the ''Polizia di Stato'' (national police) and the ''Guardia di Finanza'' (customs police, border police and financial police); are the main forces, the only ones with full powers. There are also the ''Polizia Penitenziaria'' (corrections, prison service), in charge of keeping order in the prison system. Locally, with jurisdiction only in little felonies, There are also ''Polizia Provinciale'' in some of the 109 provinces of Italy, and ''Polizia Municipale'' in every comune. Even though they support other forces in drug dealing and thefts, their primary function is to patrol streets and prevent felonies. They have full police power in their jurisdiction and they also can do investigation. The ''Carabinieri'' and ''Guardia di Finanza'' are organized as a military force. In recent years, ''Carabinieri'' units have been dispatched all over the world in peacekeeping missions, including Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. On a daily basis, calling the 112 emergency number only Polizia or carabinieri will answer as they are the only forces in charge of "Pronto Intervento" (non-sanitarian Emergency) and public safety.


Japan

Japan's prefectural police departments, which are responsible for policing their respective Prefectures of Japan, prefecture, are overseen by the National Police Agency (Japan), National Police Agency, and free of direct central government executive control. They are checked by an Judicial system of Japan, independent judiciary and monitored by a free and active Japanese media, press. The police are generally well respected and can rely on considerable public cooperation in their work. There are also "special judicial police officers", consisting of the Imperial Guard (Japan), Imperial Guard, a security police force of the National Police Agency which protects the Imperial family and Imperial properties, prison guards, who are employees of the Ministry of Justice, narcotics agents and Labor Standards Inspectors of the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, authorized fisheries inspectors and officers of Regional Forest Offices of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, military police officers of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, and Japan Coast Guard officers.


Jordan

Law enforcement is carried out by the Public Security Directorate, the national police force which lies under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior.


Kenya

The Kenya Police is responsible for civilian law enforcement. It maintains a number of specialized branches: * Administration Police - Responsible for protective and border security services along with countering cattle theft and banditry * Criminal Investigation Department (Kenya), Criminal Investigation Department - Investigates complex cases * General Service Unit (Kenya), General Service Unit - A paramilitary wing of the police The Kenya Wildlife Service is responsible for wildlife conservation and protection, particularly against poaching, and the Kenya Forest Service protects the forests and enforces revenue measures for exploitation of forest products. The Kenya Prison Service is responsible for guarding prisons.


Lebanon

Law enforcement in Lebanon is the responsibility of the Internal Security Forces.


Luxembourg

The Grand Ducal Police (French: ''Police Grand-Ducale''; Luxembourgish: ''Groussherzoglech Police'' or simply ''d'Police'') is since 1 January 2000 the sole law enforcement agency in the Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The Police is under the authority of the Luxem-bourgish Minister for Public Security, although it operates in the name, and under the ultimate (ceremonial) control of the head of state, the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. Previously, the Luxembourgish law enforcement agencies (as well as the Army) were under the command of the Minister of Public Force, a cabinet post that no longer exists. The Grand Ducal Police was created in its current form on 1 January 2000, when the Grand Ducal Gendarmerie merged with the State-controlled local police forces. The Grand Ducal Police is responsible for ensuring Luxembourg's internal security, fighting crime and corruption, maintaining law and order and enforcing all laws and Grand Ducal decrees. It is also responsible for assisting the Luxembourgish Army in its internal (war-time) operations, in accordance with the respective legislation and under the authority of the national Commander-in-Chief, the Grand Duke. Municipal regulations are enforced by "Municipal agents" (French: ''Agents municipaux''; Luxembourgish: ''Gemengenagenten''), who are partly uniformed but always unarmed municipal employees (no police officers) with strictly limited enforcement powers.


Lithuania

Law enforcement in Lithuania is the responsibility of a unified national police force, the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, which is under the jurisdiction of the Interior Ministry. From the Police Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which is led by the Police Commissar General, the police force branches out to the National and Municipal Police. The National Police is composed of the criminal police, traffic police, public security force and public police.


Malaysia

The Royal Malaysian Police or ''Polis Diraja Malaysia'' in Malay language, Malay is a main branch of security forces in Malaysia. Established on 25 March 1807, the force is a centralized organization that has a gamut of roles that ranges from traffic control to intelligence. Its headquarters is located in Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur and divided into 14 state police, including two on East Malaysia consist of Sabah State Police and Sarawak State Police. During the emergency period, the force is a major security forces to track down the communists. The force has seven departments, which consist of 2 tasked with police management and logistic with 5 tasked for multi-crimes prevented, intelligence and security service. The riot control force known as Federal Reserve Unit makes up part of the police force. In addition to the Federal Reserve Unit, the Police maintain 2 paramilitary divisions: the General Operations Forces, which includes the Senoi Praaq which grew out of the Emergency Jungle Squads, and the special force: the Pasukan Gerakan Khas (PGK); Special Operations Command; SOCOM of Federal Police), which includes the VAT 69 Police Commandos and UTK. VAT 69 commando battalion is the special force based on by Special Air Service, SAS for fight against the communist threats and the Special Action Units ''(Malay: Unit Tindakan Khas)'', which is modelled on SWAT teams for dangerous crimes prevented and close protections. Besides, the force also created the maritime police special forces known as Police Combat Diving Unit or ''Unit Selam Tempur'', who tasked the security of Straits of Malacca, Sulu Sea and South China Sea from the piracy activities and terrorism. The Rakan Cop is the Malaysian community police which was launched in 2006.


Malta

The Malta Police Force is the national police force of Malta, and is responsible for all policing functions. It is overseen by the Ministry of Home Affairs.


Mauritius

The law enforcement agency of Mauritius is the Mauritius Police Force. The Commissioner of Police (Mauritius), Commissioner of Police (CP) heads the organisation which forms part of the Home Affairs Division of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).


Mexico

Most police forces in Mexico can be classified into two general types based on their primary function. They tend to operate as ''policía judicial'' (judicial police) or ''policía preventiva'' (preventive police). The basic difference being that the ''policía judicial'' are usually under the administration of the judicial branch of government (i.e., judges, attorneys general, etc.), whereas the ''policía preventiva'' tend to be administered by legislative or executive branches of government (i.e., mayors, or city councils). Historically, the judicial police would investigate crimes that have already occurred, and preventive police would focus their efforts on preventing crimes (by active presence on the streets and random patrols). In recent decades these differences have been blurred considerably. Mexican law enforcement agencies, vary from state to state but usually have the hierarchy mentioned below: *''Agencia Federal de Investigación'' (Federal Investigations Agency) *''Policía Federal Preventiva'' (Federal Preventive Police) *''Agencia Estatal de Investigación'' (States of Mexico, State Investigations Agency) *''Policía Estatal Preventiva'' (States of Mexico, State Preventive Police) *''Policía Municipal Preventiva'' (Municipalities of Mexico, Municipal Preventive Police)


Morocco

The Morocco, Moroccan police is called ''Sûreté Nationale (Morocco), Sûreté Nationale''. The force is tasked with upholding the law and public order. It works alongside the ''Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie'', the Gendarmerie body of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces.


Myanmar

The Myanmar Police Force, which is overseen by the Ministry of Home Affairs (Myanmar), Ministry of Home Affairs, is the national police force of Myanmar. It is divided into State and Divisional Police Forces, which have District Police and Township Police forces under their jurisdiction. There are 16 combat police battalions that carry out general security duties, and 26 Anti-Narcotic Task Forces.


Nauru

The Nauru Police Force is the single police agency, responsible for all law enforcement and internal security tasks.


Netherlands

The Law enforcement in the Netherlands, Dutch national police is a government agency charged with upholding the law and public order and providing aid. It is also the investigation service for the Attorney General of the Judiciary. The current chief of Dutch Police is Henk van Essen. Police duties at airports are provided by the Royal Marechaussee, Koninklijke Marechaussee (Royal Military Constabulary), together with Private security company, Private security companies. Local laws, or "Quality of life" issues are enforced by municipal enforcement officers (Handhaving). These officers, together with foresters, public transport security personnel, attendance officers and social detectives have special enforcement status (Buitengewoon Opsporings Ambtenaar or Extraordinary Investigating Officer) which allows them to issue fines, detain people or make arrests. Their so-called police powers are limited, and they often have the power to use force and handcuffs but do generally not carry any form of weapon.


Nepal

The Nepal Police is a government body responsible for enforcing law and order in Nepal. Along with Armed Police Force (Nepal), Armed Police Force, the police of Nepal is responsible for maintaining law and order and prevention of crime according to the constitution of Nepal and is under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Sarbendra Khanal is the current IGP of Nepal Police. Nepal Police has total 67,416 police personnel and has 2,344 permanent and 507 temporary police offices and units spread all over the country. The present chief of Nepal Police is Sarbendra Khanal.


New Zealand

The New Zealand Police are charged with enforcing law in New Zealand. They are a single national police force with a broad policing role (community safety, law enforcement & road safety). New Zealand police officers do not normally carry firearms, although access to firearms is available when circumstances dictate. Specialised units of the New Zealand Police such as the Armed Offenders Squad, a SWAT type unit and the Special Tactics Group are also operational for different scenarios that might arise. New Zealand Police work with other government agencies and non-government groups to achieve the best safety outcomes for all New Zealanders.


Nicaragua

The National Police of Nicaragua is responsible for law enforcement, and sometimes works in conjunction with the Nicaraguan military, making it an indirect and rather subtle version of a gendarmerie.


Nigeria

The Nigeria Police Force is the sole civilian police force in Nigeria. It is under the control of the federal government – there are no state or municipal police forces in Nigeria. It has a paramilitary arm, the Nigerian Mobile Police. The Kano State Hisbah Corps is a religious law enforcement agency in Kano State responsible for enforcing Sharia law, but it does not have police authority. Hisbah personnel who observe violations of Sharia are expected to alert the police. The Nigerian Armed Forces have a separate military police force, the Nigerian Corps of Military Police.


Norway

The Norway, Norwegian national police force ( no, Politiet) is subordinate to the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police, Ministry of Justice and Police. The Politiet is divided into 27 regional police departments and seven nationwide special departments. In total the force has about 11,000 employees, with the Oslo police precinct, as the largest, accounting for 2,300. Officers of the Norwegian police usually do not carry firearms, making the force one of the few unarmed police organizations in the world. They are instead armed with Club (weapon)#Telescopic batons, telescopic batons and pepper spray.


Pakistan

The police in Pakistan are under the control of the province they work in, with each police having jurisdiction in its own province and its leadership headquartered in the province's capital. A separate traffic police department exists for managing traffic and is also a provincial force. Only the capital city police are an exception, and is under federal government control with its own setup. In Punjab a counter-terror unit Elite Police, elite force within the Punjab Police (Pakistan), Punjab Police was created in 1998. A separate paramilitary organization in the eastern provinces (Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab and Sindh) known as the Pakistan Rangers, Rangers exist for providing security in the country and to assist the police whenever needed. They also under the control of the province they work in. Their equivalents in the western provinces (Balochistan, Pakistan, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) are the Frontier Corps (FC).


Panama

The Panamanian National Police, a branch of the Panamanian Public Forces, is responsible for civilian policing functions. It is divided into different police zones across the country.


Papua New Guinea

The Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary is the name of the Police force in Papua New Guinea. There are also 20 mobile squads paramilitary under the Special Services Division of the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary which is headed by a Director. The Director reports to the Assistant Commissioner who reports to the three deputy Commissioners who are under the Commissioner of Police.


Paraguay

The National Police of Paraguay is responsible for law enforcement and internal security. It operates under the auspices of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.


Peru

The national police force in Peru is called the National Police of Peru (Policía Nacional del Perú) or PNP. They are the state police force, but serve many of the same roles in the cities that local police forces assume in other countries, such as Road traffic control, traffic control at intersections. Peruvian cities (or Lima-area districts) each have their own ''Serenazgo'' forces, which perform patrol duties like a neighborhood watch and call upon the PNP as needed.


The Philippines

The Local Government Code of the Philippines mandates the Barangays to enforce peace and order and provide support for the effective enforcement of human rights and justice, resolving and/or mediating conflict at the barangay level through non-adversarial means. Recourse to this Barangay Justice System is required, with some specific exceptions, as a pre-condition before filing a complaint in court or any government offices. At the national level, law enforcement in the Philippines is handled by two agencies: the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (Philippines), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). Community policing is done by un-armed Tanod, barangay tanods who are hired and supervised by their local barangays, the smallest elected government in the Philippines. Barangay Tanods are often described as volunteers but they do receive in some places small stipends and benefits such as health care. They have some limited training. The thirteen operational support units and their respective functions are as follows: * Maritime Group (MG). This group is responsible to perform all police functions over Philippine Territorial waters, lakes, and rivers along coastal areas to include ports and harbors and small islands for the security and the sustainability development of the maritime environment. * Intelligence Group (IG). This group serves as the intelligence and counter-intelligence operating unit of the PNP. *Drug Enforcement Group (DEG). This group arrests drug lords in pursuant with the Anti-illegal drug law. * Police Security and Protection Group (PSPG). This group provides security to government vital installations, government officials, visiting dignitaries and private individuals authorized to be given protection. * Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG). This group monitors, investigates, prosecutes all crimes involving economic sabotage, and other crimes of such magnitude and extent as to indicate their commission by highly placed or professional criminal syndicates and organizations. It also conducts organized- crime –control, all major cases involving violations of the revised penal Code, violators of SPECIAL LAWS assigned to them such as Anti-hijacking, Anti-Carnapping and Cybercrimes among others and atrocities committed by Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)/New People's Army (NPA)/National Democratic Front (NDF). * Special Action Force (SAF). This group is a mobile strike force or a reaction unit to augment regional, provincial, municipal and city police force for civil disturbance control, internal security operations, hostage-taking rescue operations, search and rescue in times of natural calamities, disasters and national emergencies and other special police operations such as ant-hijacking, anti-terrorism, explosives and ordnance disposal. On a special note, the PNP Air Unit is placed under the supervision of SAF. * Aviation Security Group (AVEGROUP). This group provides security to all airports throughout the country. * Highway Patrol Group (HPG). This group enforces the traffic laws and regulations, promote safety along the highways, enhances traffic safety consciousness through inter-agency cooperation concerning Police Traffic Safety Engineering, Traffic Safety Education and Traffic Law enforcement functions and develops reforms in the crime prevention aspect against all forms of lawlessness committed along National Highway involving the use of motor vehicles. * Police-Community Relations Group (PCRG). This group undertakes and orchestrates Police Community Relations program and activities in partnership with concerned government agencies, the community, and volunteer organizations in order to prevent crime and attain a safe and peaceful environment. * Civil Security Group (CSG). This group regulates business operations and activities of all organized private detectives, watchmen, security guards/agencies and company guard forces. It also supervises the licensing and registration of firearms and explosives. * Crime Laboratory (CL). This group provides scientific and technical, investigative aide and support to the PNP and other investigative agencies. It also provides crime laboratory examination, evaluation and identification of physical evidence gathered at the crime scene with primary emphasis on medical, biological and physical nature. * PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group (PNP-AKG). This Group serves as the primary unit of the PNP in addressing the kidnapping menace in the country and in handling hostage situations. And * PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP- ACG). This Group is responsible for the implementation of pertinent laws on cybercrimes and anti-cybercrime campaigns of the PNP. * PNP Air Unit. Provides helicopter to PNP personnels.


Poland

Law enforcement agencies in Poland include: * ''Policja'' (police) * ''Border Guard (Poland), Straż Graniczna'' (SG) (border guard), also have
coast guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...
department. * ''Agencja Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego'' (ABW) – counterintelligence intelligence agency, agency for internal security tasks * ''Żandarmeria Wojskowa'' (ŻW) (military police, military provost) *''Centralne Biuro Antykorupcyjne'' (CBA) – law enforcement agency designed to fight against corruption *''Prokuratura'' – Polish public prosecutor office (chief section of the Prokuratura is Public Prosecutor General (Poland), Prokuratura Generalna) *''Customs Service (Poland), Służba Celna'' – Poland's customs *''Straż miejska'' City Guard


Portugal

There are three main police forces in Portugal: # ''Polícia de Segurança Pública'' (PSP – Public Security Police) – a civil uniformed police, responsible mainly for the policing in the large urban areas; # ''Portuguese National Republican Guard, Guarda Nacional Republicana'' (GNR – Republican National Guard) – a gendarmerie type force, that works mainly in the countryside and small towns; # ''Polícia Judiciária'' (PJ – Judiciary Police) – responsible for the major criminal investigations. There are also other smaller specialized police services, like the ''Autoridade de Segurança Alimentar e Económica'' (ASAE – Food and Economic Safety Authority), the ''Polícia Marítima'' (Maritime Police), the ''Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras'' (SEF – Foreign and Border Service) and the ''polícias municipais'' (municipal police).


Qatar

The Ministry of Interior oversees the various law enforcement units. The Rescue Police Department, or Al-Fazaa, is responsible for most civilian policing. The Juvenile Police Department is responsible for investigating juvenile crime. The Airport Security Department oversees entry and exit from Qatar. Internal security, espionage, and sedition cases are handled by Qatar State Security.


Romania

General Inspectorate of Romanian Police is the central unit of police in Romania, which manages, guides, supports and controls the activity of the Romanian police units, investigates and analyses very serious crimes related to organized crime, economic, financial or banking criminality, or to other crimes which make the object of the criminal cases investigated by the Prosecutor's Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice, and which has any other attributions assigned by law. The organizational chart of General Inspectorate of Romanian Police includes general directorates, directorates, services and, offices established by the order of the Minister of Administration and Interior. The General Inspectorate is under the command of a ''General Inspector'' appointed by the Minister of Administration and Interior. Since March 2015, the General Inspector of the Police is appointed by the Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister and also holds the rank of Secretary of State.


Russia

The Police of Russia are called полиция (''Politsiya''). All police forces are overseen by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Russia), Ministry of Internal Affairs, and currently the police is under wide Russian police reform, reform. Until 2011 the police was called милиция (''Militsiya''). This change of name started at the Russian Revolution of 1917, Russian Revolution via a Communist political idea of "''replacing the capitalist police by a people's militia''"; but the name "militsiya" has persisted after the Communist system collapsed. Numerous cities in Russia have municipal police services and the Oblasts of Russia, Oblasts and Krais of Russia, Krais maintain regional police services. The Republics of Russia, Republics also have their own police forces. Russia's federal law enforcement agencies are the Federal Security Service and Federal Drug Control Service of Russia, Federal Drug Control Service. The standard Russian police Club (weapon), baton is made of rubber. The normal service uniform is black with red piping and hat band. Fur hats and heavy greatcoats are worn in winter.


Rwanda

The Rwanda National Police is responsible for law enforcement in Rwanda. It is divided into the northern, southern, eastern, and western regional commands and has numerous specialized units such as the Special Intervention Force, Canine Unit, Special Airport Police Unit, Revenue Protection Unit, and Police Marine Unit.


Saudi Arabia

Regular policing activities are the responsibility of the Department of Public Safety, the highly centralized national police force. Domestic security and counterintelligence is handled by the Mabahith, or secret police. The Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Saudi Arabia), Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice is the national religious police force of Saudi Arabia, enforcing Islamic codes of behavior.


Serbia

The Police of the Republic of Serbia is responsible for all local and national law enforcement services in Serbia. It is managed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Serbia), Ministry of Internal Affairs.


Singapore

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) is the main agency tasked with maintaining law and order in the city-state. Formerly known as the Republic of Singapore Police. It is composed of full-time professional police officers who make up about 20% of the force, conscripts doing National Service in Singapore, National Service, and volunteers of the Volunteer Special Constabulary.


Slovenia

Law enforcement in Slovenia is the responsibility of the Slovenian National Police force, which is composed of 11 police directorates.


Somalia

The Somali Police Force is the main civil law enforcement agency of Somalia. Law enforcement in the autonomous region of Puntland is provided by the Puntland Police Force, a subdivision of the Puntland Security Force.


South Africa

The South African Police Service is responsible for providing policing services to the public of South Africa at 1154 police stations, divided across nine provinces.


South Korea

The National Police Agency (South Korea), National Police Agency, or NPA, is the only police organization in South Korea and is run under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (South Korea), Ministry of the Interior and Safety. As a national police force it provides all policing services throughout the country. This differs from the situation in many countries including France, where policing is split between the Police Nationale, National Police and ''French Gendarmerie, Gendarmerie'', and between countries such as the United States which have a layered system of National, State/Regional and/or local Law Enforcement organizations. The NPA is headquartered in Seoul and is divided into 14 local police agencies, including the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. Local police agencies are not independent of the national police. There were 96,000 police officers


Spain

Policing in Spain is carried out by a combination of national, regional and local bodies: * The Civil Guard (Spain), Civil Guard patrols rural areas as well as highways and ports and investigates crimes there. It is a gendarmerie force and has military status. Civil Guard personnel operate from garrison posts that are called casas cuartel ("home-garrisons") which are both minor residential garrisons and fully equipped Police stations. It answers to both the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defence. * The National Police Corps is the national civilian police force of Spain. It has a civilian status and deals with criminal offences and public order in urban areas. It includes special anti-riot units. It answers to the Ministry of Interior. * The Municipal police (Spain), municipal police operate in most cities and important towns, concentrating on preventing crime, settling minor incidents, traffic control, and, intelligence gathering. These forces answer to the local governments. * In some Autonomous Communities there is an autonomous police force, under the rule of the regional government, which carries out the duties of the Civil Guard and the National Police. These police forces are the Mossos d'Esquadra in Catalonia, the Ertzaintza in the Basque Country, and the Policía Foral, Chartered Police in Navarre. They answer to their respective autonomous governments. The Basque province of Alava retains Spain's oldest police force, the Miñones ("Minions") founded in 1793. Although now an integral division of the Basque Ertzaintza, it answers to the provincial government of Alava. * Additionally, there is a "special administrative police" which is not under the Ministry of the Interior nor the Ministry of Defence, but the Ministry of the Treasury. The Customs Surveillance Service is responsible for the investigation and prosecution of cases involving contraband, illegal drugs, financial evasion and violations, money laundering, surveillance for financial police purposes and the provision of judicial police services. Despite their civilian status, the officers are trained by both the National Police and the Navy Marines.


Sri Lanka

The national police service in Sri Lanka is the Sri Lanka Police. The police maintains an elite paramilitary commando force, the Special Task Force (Sri Lanka), Special Task Force, which has taken security duties around the island. Other agencies which have limited police powers are Sri Lanka Customs, the Sri Lanka Coast Guard, and the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption. The military has police powers limited to military personnel, mainly for internal investigation and guarding military facilities.


Sudan

Sudan's main national law enforcement agency is the United Police Forces, responsible for responsible for civil defense, criminal investigations, immigration and customs, passport control, traffic control, and wildlife protection. Police divisions operate within state commands, and state police commissioners report directly to the Director-General of the Police, who answers to the Minister of Interior.


Sweden

The Swedish Police Authority (in Swedish language, Swedish: ''Polismyndigheten'', but is usually referred to as ''Polisen'') is the central administrative authority responsible for the Swedish police that operates under the Ministry of Justice (Sweden), Ministry of Justice. The Swedish Police Authority replaced the Swedish National Police Board, National Police Board in 2015. Due to the 2015 reform of the police, the Swedish Security Service became a separate entity under the Ministry of Justice (Sweden), Ministry of Justice, instead of previously being part of the National Police Board. The reform also resulted in Rikskriminalpolisen (National Criminal Investigations Department) being dissolved and its duties transferred to the National Operations Department. The 21 police regions that were established according to the Counties of Sweden prior to the reform were replaced by six police regions, which were instead divided into 27 local police districts. Swedish police officers are always armed with a 9 mm Sig Sauer handgun, a Club (weapon)#Telescopic batons, telescopic baton and a can of pepper spray. The Swedish Police Authority maintains three well-trained SWAT elements, the first being the elite counter-terrorism National Task Force which is the equivalent of Germany's GSG 9 and the French GIGN. The second unit being the Reinforced Regional Task Force (previously known as Piketen), which is trained to handle riot control, hostage situations and high-risk arrests in three of Sweden's major cities; Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. The third element is composed of small, less well-equipped special response units under the jurisdictions of their respective local police districts, they are simply called Regional Task Forces, and they serve officially under the Reinforced Regional Task Force.


Switzerland

The police in Switzerland is mainly the responsibility of the 26 cantons, each of which operates a cantonal police service. Some municipalities have their own Municipal police (Switzerland), municipal police departments as well, but most of them are responsible for general law and order and parking enforcement only while in some larger cities they carry out traffic control as well. Only the cities of Zürich, Winterthur, and Lausanne have municipal police departments which provide a full policing service. The Swiss federal government operates the Federal Office of Police, which coordinates between cantonal police forces. It maintains an investigative arm, the Federal Criminal Police, which includes the Task Force TIGRIS tactical unit. The Swiss military also operates a military police force.


Syria

The Syrian government's civilian police service is managed by the Criminal Security Directorate, a branch of the Ministry of Interior. It has five police divisions and branches: * The Administrative Police, also known as Neighbourhood Police: responsible for general security and deals with non-emergency situations. * The Emergency Division, deals with emergency situations and operates roving patrols. * Criminal Security Department * Riot Division * Electronic Criminal Branch, in charge of combating computer- and web-based crime. According to pro-government newspaper Al-Watan, the Electronic Criminal Branch has a dedicated criminal laboratory. The capital Damascus is policed by a special metropolitan police force and rural areas are policed by gendarmerie forces. The Asayish (Rojava regions), Asayish police force is responsible for law enforcement in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. In Turkish occupation of northern Syria, Turkish-occupied northern Syria, the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Police is responsible for policing, while various Syrian opposition groups provide policing services in Idlib.


Taiwan (Republic of China)

The Taiwanese police is a national police force. It has an elite Special Forces Military unit, unit known as the Thunder Squad. It is trained for dealing with dangerous and high-risk missions, as well as counter-terrorism due to the potential military threat from the People's Republic of China.


Thailand

The Royal Thai Police is the national police force of Thailand. It is subdivided into several regions and services, each enjoying their own powers. * Crime Suppression Division, Thai Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI * Immigration * Traffic police


Tunisia

The Tunisian National Police, which is overseen by the Ministry of Interior, is mainly responsible for law enforcement tasks. The Judicial Police is responsible for criminal investigations. The Tunisian National Guard and Presidential Guard help provide internal security.


Turkey

Law enforcement is Turkey is carried out by five separate bodies. The Turkish National Police ( tr, Polis) is the civilian police for towns and districts, under the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Gendarmerie (Turkey), Gendarmerie ( tr, Jandarma) is a branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible only for policing the civilian population in areas that fall outside the jurisdiction of the National Police, mainly rural areas. Provost (military police), Provost services are provided by the Military Police ( tr, Askeri inzibat). The Turkish Coast Guard ( tr, Sahil Güvenlik Komutanlığı) is also a branch of the Armed Forces, responsible for search and rescue and sea, maritime border guard, border protection. The National Intelligence Organization (Turkey), National Intelligence Organization ( tr, Millî İstihbarat Teşkilâtı) is responsible for internal security. Some limited local law enforcement is carried out by Village guard system, village guards.


Uganda

The Uganda National Police is the sole civilian law enforcement agency of Uganda.


Ukraine

The National Police of Ukraine is the sole civilian police service of Ukraine. It is operated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ukraine), Ministry of Internal Affairs.


United Arab Emirates

Law enforcement in the United Arab Emirates is divided regionally with each Emirate having its own independent police force. For example, the Abu Dhabi Police has jurisdiction within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the Dubai Police Force has jurisdiction within the Emirate of Dubai.


United Kingdom

Widely regarded as the home of the first modern police force, law enforcement in the United Kingdom is based on the long-standing philosophy of policing by consent. Policing and law enforcement are organised separately in each of the legal systems of the United Kingdom as a result of devolution of powers to History of Scottish devolution, Scotland, Northern Ireland Assembly (1982), Northern Ireland and, to a lesser extent, Mayor of London, London. England and Wales have 43 territorial police forces, local police forces (formerly known as constabularies), each of which covers a 'police area' (a particular Counties of the United Kingdom, county, grouping of counties or metropolitan area). Since 2012, 41 of these forces have their own directly elected Police and Crime Commissioner, under the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011. The two exceptions are in London, where the Metropolitan Police is accountable to the directly elected mayor via the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime, Office for Policing and Crime, and the much smaller City of London Police that retains the Common Council of the City of London Corporation, City as its police authority. Scotland now has a single national force – the Police Service of Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Seirbheis Phoilis na h-Alba), commonly known as Police Scotland. It replaced eight former territorial police forces and the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency in April 2013 and is overseen by the Scottish Police Authority, under the terms of the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (Irish: Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster Scots: Polis Servis o Norlin Airlan) serves Northern Ireland, succeeding the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) in 2001. Following the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000, the PSNI is supervised by the Northern Ireland Policing Board (Irish: Bord Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster-Scots: Norlin Airlan Polisin Boord), who are themselves appointed since 2007 by the Minister of Justice (Northern Ireland) using the Nolan principles for public appointments. From October 2013 the National Crime Agency (NCA) operates as the United Kingdom's first national law enforcement agency. Replacing the existing Serious Organised Crime Agency and Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, as well as assuming some of the responsibilities of the UK Border Agency, but not counter-terrorism, for the first time it will have authority for "tasking and coordination" investigative work to local forces under the Crime and Courts Act 2013. There are also three special police forces that have a specific, non-regional jurisdiction – the British Transport Police, Civil Nuclear Constabulary, Ministry of Defence Police. Over the centuries there has been a wide variation in the number of police forces operating within the UK, most of which now no longer exist, see list of former police forces in the United Kingdom. A few List of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories#Miscellaneous police forces, miscellaneous constabularies with responsibility mostly founded on old legislation to police specific local areas, such as ports and parks, have escaped police reform. Lastly, a number of government bodies that are not police forces have detective powers and enforce laws, such as the Marine and Fisheries Agency and UK Border Agency, who employ officers with limited powers of detention and search but generally cannot make full arrests. The majority of British police are never routinely armed with firearms, relying on an extendable Baton (law enforcement), baton and in some cases Tasers, with specialist armed units always on patrol and called in only when necessary. The exceptions are the Ministry of Defence Police, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary and the Police Service of Northern Ireland which are routinely armed. Uniquely in Britain, there are police forces of Crown Dependencies such as the Isle of Man and States of Jersey and Guernsey, who have police forces that share resources with the UK police, whilst having a separate administration within their own governments. The British Overseas Territories, have their own police forces which are generally based on the British model of policing. The British Armed Forces also maintain military police units: the Royal Military Police, Royal Air Force Police, Royal Navy Police, and Royal Marines Police.


United States

In the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and other federal agencies such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, United States Secret Service, United States Marshals Service, United States Park Police, United States Capitol Police, United States Mint Police, United States Postal Inspection Service, and the United States Pentagon Police are limited to the enforcement of federal laws and usually specialize in certain crimes or duties, but do enforce some state laws. Most crimes constitutionally fall under the jurisdiction of state police (United States), state police or the thousands of local police forces. These include county police or sheriff's departments as well as municipal or city police departments. Many areas also have special police, special agencies such as University police, campus police, Railroad police (U.S.), railroad police, airport police, transit police, Indian tribal police, tribal police, housing police, or a district or precinct constable. All states except Hawaii maintain state police agencies. Most counties have sheriff's departments led by a sheriff who is elected by the people of the county to the position, though a few have county police which are not lead by an elected official instead. Most cities and many towns maintain their own police departments, including even small towns with police departments consisting of a few officers. In addition, most state universities maintain their own police departments, as do many airports and seaports. The United States Armed Forces maintain numerous military police agencies. There are approximately 18,000 federal, state, county, and local law enforcement agencies in the United States, most of them municipal police departments.https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/nsleed.pdf


Uruguay

The National Police of Uruguay is responsible for maintaining law and order. It is overseen by the Ministry of the Interior.


Venezuela

The Venezuelan National Police, Bolivarian National Police (Venezuelan National Police) is responsible for law enforcement duties in national jurisdiction. Likewise, there are state police bodies in charge of the autonomy of each state and its state constitution; some examples are the Autonomous Police Institute of the Miranda (state), State of Miranda, or the Bolivarian Police Force of the Zulia, State of Zulia. In addition to these, there is also the Cuerpo de Investigaciones Científicas, Penales y Criminalísticas, Scientific, Penal, and Criminal Investigation Service Corps and the Bailiff Corps (Spanish: Cuerpo de Alguacilazgo), the latter serves the Venezuelan judiciary and performs police duties in the courts, with powers similar to that of the United States Marshals Service.


Vietnam

The single law enforcement agency in Vietnam is the Vietnam People's Public Security, which answers to the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam, Ministry of Public Security.


Zambia

The Zambia Police Service is the single civilian law enforcement agency of Zambia. It is under the portfolio of the Ministry of Home Affairs (Zambia), Ministry of Home Affairs.


Zimbabwe

The Zimbabwe Republic Police is the national police service of Zimbabwe. It has various specialized units such as the Duty Uniformed Branch (DUB), Criminal Investigation Department (CID), National Traffic Branch, Police Protection Unit(PPU) and Support Unit also known as riot police or Gondo harishayi.


See also

* List of basic law enforcement topics * List of law enforcement agencies


References

{{Police Law enforcement by country,