The Lithuanian Military Police () is a

law enforcement agency A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for law enforcement within a specific jurisdiction through the employment and deployment of law enforcement officers and their resources. The most common type of law enforcement ...

operating within the national defence system of the Republic of

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

and is a part of the

Lithuanian Armed Forces The Lithuanian Armed Forces () are the military of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Armed Forces consist of the Lithuanian Land Forces, the Lithuanian Navy, the Lithuanian Air Force and the Lithuanian Special Operations Force. In wartime, the Li ...

. Military Police are directly subordinate to the

Chief of Defence A chief of defence (or head of defence) is the highest ranked Officer (armed forces), commissioned officer of a nation's armed forces. The acronym CHOD is in common use within NATO and the European Union as a generic term for the highest national ...

of the Republic of Lithuania. Main tasks of Military Police include preventing of crimes and other breaches of legal acts, investigating and disclosing offences, enforcing law and order in military territories and in the

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

and ensuring the security of military traffic.

History

15 March 1919 is the date of establishment of the Military Police of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, when the Kaunas Military Commandant organized a company of Kaunas militia with the purpose of which was to help maintain order in the city and the county. On 15 March 1919, Jonas Jočys, an officer, was appointed Commander of the Company, and Jonas Šalkauskas, his assistant. There were 60 soldiers assigned to the Military Field Military Company. The Military Police of the Lithuanian Armed Forces was reestablished in 22 October 1998. On 22 October 1998 in the Parliament of Lithuania the Military Police Law of the Lithuanian Armed Forces was adopted which served as a basis for the establishment of

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...

. In 1999

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Dainius Janėnas was appointed as Commander of Military Police. In 2000

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

and

Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...

Garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

s were established, and a year later, the

Klaipėda Klaipėda ( ; ) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, third-largest city in Lithuania, the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, fifth-largest city in the Baltic States, and the capi ...

Garrison was formed. In 2005,

Šiauliai Šiauliai ( ; ) is a city in northern Lithuania, the List of cities in Lithuania, country's fourth largest city and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, sixth largest city in the Baltic States, with a population of 112 581 in 202 ...

Garrison was also established. In 2004 Lt Col Sigitas Butkus was appointed as Commander of Military Police. On 22 October 2004, Military Police colours were adopted.

Mission

The Military Police Law outlines the Military Police's competence, functions and tasks as well as organizational procedures, rights and responsibilities of military policemen and relationship with other law enforcement institutions. Functions of Military Police include: *Implementation of measures to prevent crimes and other breaches of legal acts; *Recording and control of crimes and other violations of legal acts; *Investigation of committed crimes and other breaches of legal acts. Keeping with procedures outlined in

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred ...

Military Police carries out search of

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

s suspected or accused in crimes and violations of other legal acts, deserted or missing soldiers as well as pretrial investigations in cases that are in the competence of Military Police under the legislation on penal process, in cases stipulated in legislation, carries out the orders of

interrogator Interrogation (also called questioning) is interviewing as commonly employed by law enforcement officers, military personnel, intelligence agencies, organized crime syndicates, and terrorist organizations with the goal of eliciting useful inform ...

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

s, judges and courts. Military Police maintains

military discipline Military discipline is the obedience to a code of conduct while in military service.Le Blond, Guillaume. "Military discipline." ''The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert Collaborative Translation Project''. Translated by Kevin Bender. Ann Arbor ...

and order by patrolling, security of military transport, escorting of military transport

convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

s, as well as guarding of key military objects, guardhouses.Lithuanian Military Police activity
/ref> A Lithuanian military police officer during an open day on Cathedral Square

A Lithuanian military police officer during an open day on Cathedral Square

Military policemen participate in multinational operations and exercises. They already participated in international missions in

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, missions in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, multinational exercises Amber Hope, Baltic Challenge, Baltic Eagle, Strong Resolve, Rescuer-Medceur, where they maintained security of military transport and public order. Any person serving in the National Defence System or having served in the

compulsory military service Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

, after passing an established selection process can be accepted to Military Police. Lithuanian military police during convoy

Units

Military Police carries out its functions in accordance with

administrative division Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

of the Republic of Lithuania: *Military Police Staff; *Pre-trial investigation; *Vilnius Garrison - responsibilities include

and

Utena Utena () is a city in north-east Lithuania. It is the administrative center of Utena district and Utena County. Utena is one of the oldest settlements of Lithuania. The name of the city is most probably derived from a hydronym. The name of the ...

districts; *Kaunas Garrison - responsibilities include

Marijampolė Marijampolė (; also known by Marijampolė#Names, several other names) is the Capital city, capital of Marijampolė County in the south of Lithuania, bordering Poland and Russian Kaliningrad Oblast, and Lake Vištytis. The city's population stood ...

and

Alytus Alytus () is a city with Town privileges, municipal rights in southern Lithuania. It is the List of cities in Lithuania, sixth-largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, 14th-largest city in the Baltic ...

districts; *Klaipėda Garrison - responsibilities include

Tauragė Tauragė (; see #Names and etymology, other names) is an industrial city in Lithuania, and the capital of Tauragė County. In 2020, its population was 20,956. Tauragė is situated on the Jūra, Jūra River, close to the border with the Kaliningr ...

and

Telšiai Telšiai (; Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Telšē'') is a city in Lithuania with about 21,499 inhabitants. It is the capital of Telšiai County and Samogitia region, and it is located on the shores of Lake Mastis. Telšiai is one of the ol ...

districts; *Šiauliai Garrison - responsibilities include

and

Panevėžys Panevėžys () is the fifth-largest List of cities in Lithuania, city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, eighth-most-populous city in the Baltic States. it occupies with 89,100 inhabitants. As defined by Eu ...

districts.

References

{{Lithuanian Armed Forces units (1990–now) * Military police units and formations of the Lithuanian Army Military units and formations established in 1998 Specialist law enforcement agencies of Lithuania