The State Police of Latvia (also Latvian State Police, ) is the national

police service The police are a constituted body of people empowered by a state with the aim of enforcing the law and protecting the public order as well as the public itself. This commonly includes ensuring the safety, health, and possessions of citizens ...

and one of the national

law enforcement agencies 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 ...

of the

Republic of Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. It is subordinate to the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

. The agency is divided into five Regional Administrations (

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, Kurzeme,

Latgale Latgale (; ; ; ; ; ; Belarusian Latin alphabet, Belarusian Latin: ''Łathalija''; ), also known as Latgalia or Latgallia, is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region of the country and lies north of the Daugava River. Wh ...

Vidzeme Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', ) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. The capital of Latvia, Riga, is situated in the southwestern part of the region. Literally meaning "the Middle Land", it is situated in north-centra ...

Zemgale Semigallia is one of the Historical Latvian Lands located to the south of the Daugava and to the north of the Saule region of Samogitia. The territory is split between Latvia and Lithuania, previously inhabited by the Semigallian Baltic trib ...

). Since the 13th of October 2020, the Chief of the State Police is General Armands Ruks.

History

The founding date of the Latvian Police is considered to be December 5th, 1918, when the transitional government of the newly-proclaimed Republic of Latvia, the

People's Council of Latvia The People's Council of Latvia (, LTP) was a temporary council which declared Latvia's independence on November 18, 1918 and then acted as the temporary parliament of the country until a Constitutional Assembly was elected. The People's Council ...

, approved the Temporary Regulations on the Internal Security Organization (''Pagaidu noteikumi par iekšējās apsardzības organizēšanu''), which regulated the structure of the police force and put it under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior of Latvia, led by

Miķelis Valters Miķelis Valters (May 7, 1874 pril 24 O.S.– March 25, 1968) was the first Latvian Minister of the Interior (1918–1919), member of the New Current intellectual movement, lawyer, politician, diplomat, social activist, and one of the authors ...

. The date is now commemorated in Latvia as the Day of the Police. Due to the ongoing

Latvian War of Independence The Latvian War of Independence (), sometimes called Latvia's freedom battles () or the Latvian War of Liberation (), was a series of military conflicts in Latvia between 5 December 1918, after the newly proclaimed Republic of Latvia was invade ...

and the lack of territory controlled by Latvian forces at that time, the force could only begin its activities in the summer of 1919 after the

Latvian Army The Latvian Land Forces () together with the Latvian National Guard form the land warfare branch of the Latvian National Armed Forces. From 2007 to 2024, the Land Forces were organized as a fully professional standing army until the re-introduct ...

and its allies had liberated large parts of the country from the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

and the

West Russian Volunteer Army The West Russian Volunteer Army or Bermontians was a pro-German White Russian military formation in Latvia and Lithuania during the Russian Civil War from November 1918 to December 1919. History The , unlike the pro- Entente Volunteer Army ...

. Facing a lack of qualified personnel, the Police School at the Riga Prefecture was opened in the same year. After the war, the force was further divided into the Civil (''Kārtības policija''), Criminal (''Kriminālpolicija'') and Secret Police (''Politiskā policija''). Latvia became a member of

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

in 1929. After the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940, the police force was dissolved and around 600 former servicemen and their relatives were persecuted. Under the

Soviet regime The political system of the Soviet Union took place in a federal single-party soviet socialist republic framework which was characterized by the superior role of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), the only party permitted by the C ...

law enforcement in the

Latvian SSR The Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic (Also known as the Latvian SSR, or Latvia) was a Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republic of the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1941, and then from 1944 until 1990. The Soviet occupation of the Bal ...

was primarily the task of the Soviet Militsiya. After the restoration of the independence of Latvia, the Latvian Police was re-established on 4 June 1991 with the approval of the law "On Police". One of its first units was the 1st Police (Patrol) Battalion, established on April 30, 1991. The main task of the battalion, which was one of the first armed formations of the Latvian government, was to provide security of the

Supreme Council of Latvia The Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas Republikas Augstākā Padome) was the transitional parliament of Latvia from 1990 to 1993, after the restoration of independence. The Supreme Council was elected on 1990 as the S ...

and strategically important buildings (government offices,

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

and television broadcasting infrastructure). In 1992, the battalion was renamed as the Security Service of the Republic of Latvia (), which was merged into the

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 2010. Latvia re-joined Interpol on 4 November 1992.

Organization

The agency is led by the Chief of the State Police, General Armands Ruks. The previous police chief Ints Ķuzis, incumbent since the 2nd of August 2011, resigned on 20 February 2020 to run as a candidate for the 2020 Riga City Council election, later he died in 2022, after a long battle with

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

. Currently the organization employs 6371 personnel and receives annual funding.

Qualification for service

For a person to qualify for service at the State Police of Latvia, they must initially complete the 2.5 year full-time or 3 year part-time first level professional higher education programme "State Police Junior Inspector" at the State Police College. There are 4 specializations available: investigator, public policeman, criminal policeman and crime expert. The candidate selection is based on a number of physical, cognitive, memory, communication and psychological tests. A candidate must be a Latvian citizen between 18 and 40 years of age with a

secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

certificate and not have committed any intentional crimes for a successful application. A number of further education programmes are available.

Structure

;The main large organizational units are as follows: * Main Administration Unit * Regional Units **

Courland Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...

Region Division **

Semigallia Semigallia is one of the Historical Latvian Lands located to the south of the Daugava and to the north of the Saule region of Samogitia. The territory is split between Latvia and Lithuania, previously inhabited by the Semigallian Baltic tri ...

Region Division **

Region Division * Public Order Unit ** Coordination and Control Division ** Special Object Security Division ** Traffic Control Division ** Prevention Division * Criminal Police Unit (supervises the

Omega Omega (, ; uppercase Ω, lowercase ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and last letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numerals, Greek numeric system/isopsephy (gematria), it has a value ...

special operations unit) ** International Cooperation Division ** Organized Crime Division ** Economic Crime Division ** Criminal Intelligence Division ** Criminal Investigations Division * Human Resources Unit * Internal Control Office * Special Matters Unit * Secrecy Unit OMEGA () is the premier

counter-terrorism Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and intelligence agencies use to co ...

and hostage response unit of

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, part of the State Police. Founded in 1992, OMEGA cooperates with many other counter-terrorism units over the world.

Ranks

The Latvian police ranks are the same as in any of the agencies subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior. The General rank is assigned by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia, while the Second Lieutenant, First Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel ranks are assigned by the Interior Minister.

Equipment

Uniform

In June 2018, while celebrating its 100th anniversary, the Police unveiled its new visual identity: a new, pre-WWII-style logo based on the lesser coat of arms of Latvia and new livery with blue, lime green and grey elements inspired by a Latvian folk ornament, the Brush of

Māra Māra is the highest-ranking goddess in Latvian mythology, the ancient Dawn-goddess, previously called Austra, and, not at all, although often stated, the same as Zemes māte ( Mother Earth, pace). Names Alternative names: Māre, Mārīte (d ...

(Māras slotiņa). The new design was designed by a group of students and professors from the Art Academy of Latvia and is scheduled to replace the old one starting from 2020. New uniforms to gradually replace the old all-blue kit were also presented later the same year. The old uniforms are planned to be phased out by 1 July 2024.

Small arms

While the precise weapons arsenal of the State Police of Latvia is not known, according to the weapons procurement of the Ministry of Interior, some of the weapons they use together with the State Secret Police and

Border Guard A border guard of a country is a national security agency that ensures border security. Some of the national border guard agencies also perform coast guard (as in Germany, Italy or Ukraine) and rescue service duties. Name and uniform In diff ...

are the following:

Vehicles

The State Police of Latvia in the last 5 years replaced most of its vehicles with the following: *

Renault Trafic The Renault Trafic (pronounced as "traffic") is a light commercial van produced by the French automaker Renault since 1980. It has also been marketed as the Fiat Talento, the Nissan NV300, the Nissan Primastar and the Mitsubishi Express. Unti ...

and

Renault Kangoo The Renault Kangoo is a family of vans built by Renault since 1997 across three generations. It is sold as a passenger multi-purpose vehicle or as a light commercial vehicle. For the European market, the Kangoo is manufactured at the MCA plant i ...

, *

Škoda Octavia The Škoda Octavia is a small family car (C-segment) produced by the Czech Republic, Czech Automotive industry, car manufacturer Škoda Auto since the end of 1996. It shares its name with an Škoda Octavia (1959–71), earlier model produced b ...

and

Škoda Superb The Škoda Superb is a Mid-size car, mid-size/large family car (D-segment) that has been produced by the Czech car manufacturer Škoda Auto since 2001. The first generation of the modern Superb, produced from 2001 to 2008, was based on the Volk ...

, *

Opel Mokka The Opel Mokka is a subcompact crossover SUV that has been produced by German automaker Opel since 2012. Sales began with the model year of 2013, at the end of 2012. The first generation was developed by GM Korea as the U200 Chevrolet Trax. The ...

and

Opel Insignia The Opel Insignia is a large family car (D-segment in Europe) developed and produced by the German car manufacturer Opel from 2008 to 2022. Taking its name from a 2003 concept car, the model line serves as the flagship model, slotted above the ...

, *

Volkswagen Amarok The Volkswagen Amarok is a pickup truck produced by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles since 2010. It is a body-on-frame truck with double-wishbone suspension at the front and leaf springs at the rear. The Amarok range consists of single cab and ...

, * Yamaha FJR1300, *

Subaru Forester The is a compact crossover SUV that has been manufactured by Subaru since 1997. The first generation was built on the platform of the Impreza in the style of a taller station wagon, a style that continued to the second generation, while the ...

, * Citroen Jumpy, Some of the Škoda vehicles used for traffic policing are unmarked.

Uniform and vehicle design

In 1991, the Latvian State Police first adopted a grey-white vehicle livery, which was designed by Gunārs Glūdiņš, a former professor of the

Art Academy of Latvia The Art Academy of Latvia () is an institution of higher education and scientific research in art, located in Riga, Latvia. The neo-Gothic brick building is located on Krišjānis Valdemārs Street, next to the National Museum of Art. In aut ...

. The design took inspiration from American police and military vehicles, with the first iteration of the design also including stripes in red. A similar white-red version was adopted by the State Fire and Rescue Service, a green-white - by municipal police forces and an early grey-white - by the Security Service of Parliament and State President, as well as other services.

References

External links

The Law on Police (Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia, 1991, last amended March 2019)

Official website in English
{{Latvia topics Law enforcement agencies of Latvia