The Mauritius Police Force (MPF) is the national law enforcement agency of

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

. The MPF carries out

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercion). Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be persons and social groups, objects and institutions, ecosystems, or any other entity or ...

, and

military 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 d ...

functions on Mauritius, with about 12,500 police officers under the command of the

Commissioner of Police A police commissioner is the head of a police department, responsible for overseeing its operations and ensuring the effective enforcement of laws and maintenance of public order. They develop and implement policies, manage budgets, and coordinate ...

(CP). The MPF is part of the Home Affairs Division, which operates under the aegis of the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

's Office. Military advisers from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

work with the Special Mobile Force, the National Coast Guard, and the Police Helicopter Squadron, and Mauritian police officers are trained in

, the

, and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. India and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

provide training to National Coast Guard officers in such fields as seamanship and maritime law enforcement.

Branches

Anti Drug and Smuggling Unit

The Anti Drug and Smuggling Unit (ADSU) is the

narcotic The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "I make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

s and anti-smuggling unit of the MPF. It is responsible for preventing smuggling and illegal drug distribution in Mauritius and the Outer Islands.

Police Bike Patrol Unit

The Police Bike Patrol Unit is the police bicycle unit of the MPF. It is primarily responsible for conducting patrols on bicycles with the goals of

community policing Community policing is a philosophy and organizational strategy whereby law enforcement cooperates with community groups and citizens in producing safety and security. The theory underlying community policing is that it makes citizens more likely t ...

, providing greater police presence, and patrolling areas not accessible to police vehicles.

Anti Robbery Squad

The Anti Robbery Squad (ARS), nicknamed the "Rottweilers", was a dedicated unit of the MPF tasked with combatting

robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person o ...

crimes and supporting the Criminal Investigation Division. It was established in 2015 by then-CP Mario Nobin to replace the defunct Rottweilers SSU. In 2017, CP Nobin appointed Inspector Seewoo, reported to be a close associate of Nobin, to head the ARS; in 2020, he was promoted to Chief Inspector, causing controversy due to "alleged irregularities" in his promotion. In 2020, CP Khemraj Servansingh transferred Seewoo to the Pointe-aux-Cannonniers police station and dismantled the ARS.

National Coast Guard

The National Coast Guard (NCG) is the

coast guard A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, 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 cust ...

of Mauritius. It was established in 1988 and consists of No. 1 Patrol Vessel Squadron and the Maritime Air Squadron. The NCG has been modernising its fleet introducing a ''Kora''-class Offshore Patrol Vessel CGS ''Barracuda'' in 2015, two ''Sarojini Naidu''-class patrol vessels CGS ''Victory'' in 2016 and CGS ''Valiant'' in 2017 and ten 14.5m GSL Fast Interceptor Boats in 2016. The Maritime Air Squadron (MAS) was established in 1990 and operates a fixed wing fleet of three HAL Dornier 228 and one Britten-Norman Defender BN-2T for search-and-rescue missions and surveillance of territorial waters. The Defender entered service in 1992, the first Dornier 228 entered service in 1990, the second in 2004 and third in 2016. The Do 288 can be fitted with 7.62mm gun pods. The NCG has a maritime tactical unit established in 2010 the Commando Unit or Commandos Special Force. The Commando Unit trains with the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

MARCOS Marcos may refer to: People with the given name ''Marcos'' *Marcos (given name) * Marcos family Sports ;Surnamed * Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century) * Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer * Né ...

and the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

's 2nd Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment (2^e RPIMa), based in

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

as part of FAZSOI.

Vessels

Aircraft

In March 1990 one radar equipped HAL Dornier 228 was ordered from India to form a maritime surveillance element by July 1991. This aircraft was reinforced in 1992 by a single twin turbo prop BN-2T Maritime Defender for coastal patrol work. A second HAL Dornier 228 was added to the fleet in 2004 and a third in 2016.

National Security Service

The National Security Service (NSS) is responsible for the

national security National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...

of Mauritius. It was formerly known as the National Intelligence Unit (NIU) and State Security Service (SSS). During

British rule The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or dire ...

, it was known as the Special Branch.

Police Helicopter Squadron

The Police Helicopter Squadron (PHS) is the

police aviation Police aviation is the use of aircraft in police operations. Police services commonly use aircraft for traffic control, ground support, search and rescue, high-speed car pursuits, observation, air patrol and control of large-scale public events ...

unit of the MPF. Established in 1974, its main roles are

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

and

casualty evacuation Casualty evacuation, also known as CASEVAC or by the callsign Dustoff or colloquially Dust Off, is a military term for the emergency patient evacuation of casualty (person), casualties from a combat zone. Casevac can be done by both ground and ...

both inland and at sea, combatting

gandia Gandia (, ) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, eastern Spain on the Mediterranean. Gandia is located on the Costa de Valencia, south of Valencia, Spain, Valencia and north of Alicante. Vehicles can ...

cultivation, traffic patrols, convoy escorts, and VIP transport. The helicopter fleet consists of four HAL Chetak, one

Eurocopter Fennec The Eurocopter, later Airbus Helicopters AS550 Fennec (now H125M) and AS555 Fennec 2 are lightweight, multipurpose military helicopters manufactured by Eurocopter Group (now Airbus Helicopters). Based on the AS350 Ecureuil and AS355 Ecureuil ...

AS555 and two

HAL Dhruv The HAL Dhruv () is a utility helicopter designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in November 1984. The helicopter first flew in 1992; its development was prolonged due to multiple factors including the Indian Army's requ ...

. The Dhruv helicopter entered service in 2009 followed by the MK.3 variant in 2023. Two refurbished Chetak helicopters were gifted by

in 2016.

Special Mobile Force

The Special Mobile Force (SMF) is the

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

force of the MPF and the '' de facto'' military of Mauritius. It was established in 1960 following the withdrawal of two companies of the British

King's African Rifles The King's African Rifles (KAR) was a British Colonial Auxiliary Forces regiment raised from Britain's East African colonies in 1902. It primarily carried out internal security duties within these colonies along with military service elsewher ...

. The SMF recruited

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

veterans and select police officers and was led by British commanders until 1978. The 1,500-member SMF and the 500-member National Coast Guard are the only two paramilitary units in Mauritius. Both units are composed of police officers on lengthy rotations to those services.

IISS The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is an international research institute or think tank focusing on defence and security issues. Since 1997, its headquarters have been at Arundel House in London. It has offices on four co ...

''Military Balance 2007''

''Military Balance 2010''''World Aircraft Information Files''; Brightstar Publishing; File 331, Sheet 4 The SMF is a

motorized infantry Motorized infantry is infantry that is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. It is distinguished from mechanized infantry, which is carried in armoured personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles, and from light infantry, which c ...

battalion with five companies, an

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

squadron, and a mobile wing comprising two squadrons equipped with armored vehicles. The SMF training is based on conventional military tactics focused on internal security. It engages extensively in civic works projects. The SMF has a

police tactical unit A police tactical unit (PTU) is a specialized police unit trained and equipped to handle situations that are beyond the capabilities of ordinary law enforcement units because of the level of violence (or risk of violence) involved. The tasks of a ...

established in 1979, the Groupement d’Intervention de la Police Mauricienne (GIPM) (). The GIPM trains with the French

National Gendarmerie The National Gendarmerie ( ) is one of two national law enforcement forces of France, along with the National Police (France), National Police. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Minister ...

's Groupe d'intervention de la Gendarmerie nationale (GIGN) and the French Army's 2^e RPIMa.

Special Support Unit

The Special Support Unit (SSU) is the

riot police Riot police are police who are organized, deployed, trained or equipped to confront crowds, protests or riots. Riot police may be regular police officers who act in the role of riot police in particular situations, or they may be separate unit ...

and reserve unit of the MPF. It was established in 1986. The SSU consists of five operational units and a training wing.

Police Band

The Police Band is the official musical group of the MPF. It can operate as a

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind instrument, wind and percussion instruments. The conducting, conductor of a ...

, a

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who play while marching. Historically they were used in armed forces and many marching bands remain military bands. Others are still associated with military units or emulate a military sty ...

, a

string orchestra A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first a ...

, and a contemporary pop group. One of its alumni was Joseph Philippe Gentil, a

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

best known for composing ''

Motherland A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic natio ...

'', the national anthem of Mauritius. On Independence Day 1968, a national newspaper mistakenly published the name and photograph of Philippe Oh San (the Police Band's maestro at the time) as the anthem's composer, with the remaining newspapers being reprinted with the correction.

Ranks

Small arms

References

External links

Mauritius Police Force websiteUniform Insignia Mauritius Police Force
{{Authority control Law enforcement in Mauritius