The Romanian Border Police ( ro, Poliția de Frontieră) is the structure of the

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

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 ...

responsible for the border security and

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

control at border crossing points, airports and ports.

Structure

Since 2001 multiple restructures and improvements occurred in order to align the service to the European counterparts. Currently it is composed of the Border Police General Inspectorate which is the central structure, subordinated to the

, while the second tier is composed of the 5 Territorial Inspectorates (Giurgiu, Timișoara, Oradea, Sighetu Marmației, Iași) and the Coast Guard. The latter was formed in 2011 when the County Inspectorates of Constanța and Tulcea were reorganized into the newly formed Coast Guard.

Ranks

The Border Police uses the same ranking system as the Romanian Police, with different colors. (''see

Romanian Police The Romanian Police ( ro, Poliția Română, ) is the national police force and main civil law enforcement agency in Romania. It is subordinated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and it is led by a General Inspector with the rank of Secretary ...

'') Before 2002, the Border Police had military status and a military ranking system, within the

(''see Romanian Armed Forces ranks and insignia''). In June 2002 it became a civilian police force, together with the

National Police National Police may refer to the national police forces of several countries: *Afghanistan: Afghan National Police *Haiti: Haitian National Police *Colombia: National Police of Colombia *Cuba: Cuban National Police *East Timor: National Police of ...

(the first police service in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

to do so) and its personnel was structured into two ''corps'': *''Corpul ofițerilor de poliție'' (Police Officers Corps) - corresponding to the commissioned ranks of a military force, to the ranks of

Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

and

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

in a British-style police force or to the both ''Corps de conception et de direction'' and ''Corps de commande et d'encadrement'' in the

French National Police The National Police (french: Police nationale), formerly known as the , is one of two national police forces of France, the other being the National Gendarmerie. The National Police is the country's main civil law enforcement agency, with prima ...

(''Police Nationale''). *''Corpul agenților de poliție'' (Police Agents Corps) - corresponding to the non-commissioned ranks of a military force, to the ''Corps de maîtrise et d'application'' in the French National Police or to the ranks of

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

Sergeant Sergeant ( abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other ...

in a British-style police force.

Weapons and Equipment

Fleet

Current fleet

Romanian Navy official party 2018 - Border guard speedboat

* 1 OPV 950 class: 950 tons built by

Damen Group The Damen Group is a Dutch defence, shipbuilding, and engineering conglomerate company based in Gorinchem, Netherlands. Though it is a major international group doing business in 120 countries, it remains a private family-owned company. Dame ...

, at the Galați Shipyard. **MAI 0201 ''Ștefan cel Mare'' (ex MAI 1105) *4

Neustadt class patrol boat Neustadt (German for ''new town'' or ''new city'') may refer to: Places * Neustadt (urban district) Czech Republic *Neustadt an der Mettau, Nové Město nad Metují *Neustadt an der Tafelfichte, Nové Město pod Smrkem *Nové Město na Morav ...

: 218 tons ex- German Federal Border Guard, built by Lürssen shipyard in Bremen-Vegesack, Germany. **MAI 1101, 1102, 1103, 1104 (ex BG-12 ''Bad Bramstedt'', BG-15 ''Eschwege'', BG-16 ''Alsfeld,'' BG-17 ''Bayreuth)'' *2 Bigliani class patrol boat: 90 tons ex-

Guardia di Finanza The ''Guardia di Finanza'' (G. di F. or GdF) () (English: literal: ''Guard of Finance'', paraphrased: ''Financial Police'' or ''Financial Guard'') is an Italian law enforcement agency under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance. ...

, built by

Intermarine Intermarine is an Italian shipbuilding company, owned by the Rodriquez Cantieri Navali Group. Company Founded in 1970, Intermarine has specialized in building boats and ships with fibre-reinforced plastic hulls. In September 2002, the company w ...

, Italy. **MAI 2113, 2114 (ex G.80 ''Bigliani'', G.81 ''Cavaglià'') *3 Shaldag Mk IV class patrol boat: 72 tons built by

Israel Shipyards Israel Shipyards is one of the largest shipbuilding and repair facilities in the eastern Mediterranean. The company also operates the first and only privately owned port in Israel. The company’s facilities are located at the Kishon Port (part ...

in Haifa, Israel. **MAI 2110, 2111, 2112 ShaldagMk4

*5 Patrol 1850 boat: 30 tons built by Kewatec Finland. ** MAI 3063, 3064, 3065, 3066, 3067 *5 SNR-17 class patrol boat: 25 tons built by Istanbul Shipyard, Turkey. **MAI 3057, 3058, 3059, 3060, 3061 * various small coastal and riverine vessels, hovercraft, pontoons, etc.

Historic ships

* VG-10 class patrol boat: built in Santierul Naval Braila in 1953–1954 years.

UAVs

* Schiebel Camcopter S-100 - made available by the European Maritime Safety Agency - EMSA

Future prospects

On March 10th, 2021 a contract was signed for

to supply the border police with two FCS 4008 Patrol boats. They will replace some of the ageing Neustadt Class boats, vessels which were built during 1969-1970 for the German Federal Border Guard, the first one being bought by the Romanian Border Police in 2002 and the other 3 in 2005. Previous attempts to replace them have failed, mainly because of lack of funding.

References

External links

Official site
{{authority control Border protection Borders of Romania