1968-Prague Spring ogv verejna bezpecnost

Public Security ( cs, Veřejná bezpečnost B sk, Verejná bezpečnosť B was the regular police force of the

Czechoslovak Socialist Republic The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, ČSSR, formerly known from 1948 to 1960 as the Czechoslovak Republic or Fourth Czechoslovak Republic, was the official name of Czechoslovakia from 1960 to 29 March 1990, when it was renamed the Czechoslovak ...

(ČSSR), created in 1945 as a branch of the National Security Corps (), which also included State Security (), Armed Airport Security ()) and Armed Railway Security, ().

History

When the

Czech Police The Police of the Czech Republic ( cs, Policie České republiky) is the national law enforcement agency of the Czech Republic. It was established on 15 July 1991 under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior. The agency is tasked with pr ...

was established on July 15, 1991, the VB was used as the basis of reforming the force under Act 283/1991 Coll.

Organization

The VB was divided into the Public Order and Traffic VB (

Highway Patrol A highway patrol, or state patrol is either a police unit created primarily for the purpose of overseeing and enforcing traffic safety compliance on roads and highways, or a detail within an existing local or regional police agency that is prima ...

), Criminal Investigations VB (major crimes, forensics) and an Infrastructure Security section (security of important buildings, installations, etc.). There were regional, district, city and local detachments of the force. Its given wartime mission scenarios incklude rear security operations and security of POW facilities. The VB were permitted to demand from any citizen an identification booklet (). This booklet contained a photograph and information such as name, current address and place of employment (being unemployed in the ČSSR was practically illegal, as one could be charged with "living on avails of the society"). As carrying an občanský průkaz was mandatory; a person could be detained for simply not having one in their possession. The auxiliary wing was the 'Public Security Auxiliary Guard' (), recruited from "politically reliable" citizens over the age of 21, who wore a red arm-band with "PS VB". They were generally used for traffic control and public order duties.

Vehicles

VB vehicles were originally blue with a white line along the side. Later vehicles had panels painted orange and white in a similar pattern to American 'black and whites', which the pattern's designer admitted after the fall of the regime was his inspiration. The full name '' was used with the blue design while later vehicles had only the letters 'VB' written on the white doors.

Uniforms

VB uniforms were also originally dark blue until the end of 1960s, when they changed to a khaki colour described officially as 'nettle green', with rank insignia on red epaulettes, which did not follow Soviet patterns, except for junior officers.

Rank structure

{, class="wikitable" , - ! ''Rank in Czech'' !! ''English Translation'' !! ''Insignia'' , - ! !! Warrant Officers/NCO's !! , - , , , Junior Sergeant , , one silver star , - , , , Sergeant , , two silver stars , - , , , Staff Sergeant , , three silver stars , - , , , Junior Warrant Officer , , one silver star with silver edging to epaulette , - , , , Warrant Officer , , two silver stars with silver edging , - , , , Senior Warrant Officer , , three silver stars with silver edging , - ! !! Officers !! , - , , , Junior Lieutenant , , one gold star , - , , , Lieutenant , , two gold stars , - , {{lang, cs, Nadporučík , , Senior Lieutenant , , three gold stars, arranged in triangle , - , {{lang, cs, Kapitán , , Captain , , three gold stars arranged in a triangle, with a fourth above them , - , {{lang, cs, Major , , Major , , one gold star with gold edging to epaulette , - , {{lang, cs, Podplukovník , , Lieutenant Colonel , , two gold stars with gold edging , - , {{lang, cs, Plukovník , , Colonel , , three gold stars, arranged in triangle, with gold edging , - ! {{lang, cs, Generálové !! General Officers !! , - , {{lang, cs, Generálmajor , , Major General , , one large gold star with crossed staffs and gold braid edging , - , {{lang, cs, Generálporučík , , Lieutenant General , , two large gold stars with crossed staffs and gold braid edging , - , {{lang, cs, Generálplukovník , , Colonel General , , three large gold stars with crossed staffs and gold braid edging

References

{{reflist

Bibliography

* {{cite book, last1=Rottman, first1=Gordon, title=Warsaw Pact Ground Forces, date=January 22, 1987, publisher=Osprey Publishing, location=UK