The General Directorate of Security (, EGM), or the Turkish National Police, is the national civil police of Turkey primarily responsible for law enforcement in urban areas, whilst rural policing falls under the jurisdiction of the

Gendarmerie General Command The Gendarmerie General Command () is the national gendarmerie force of the Republic of Turkey. It is a service branch of the Turkish Ministry of Interior responsible for the maintenance of the public order in areas that fall outside the jurisdi ...

History

Its creation dates back to the 19th century. Until the dissolution of the Janissaries in 1826, police services in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

were carried out by local garrisons and public administrators. The present-day TNP was then established in 1845, as part of the

Tanzimat The (, , lit. 'Reorganization') was a period of liberal reforms in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Edict of Gülhane of 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. Driven by reformist statesmen such as Mustafa Reşid Pash ...

, with a law inspired by the

Paris Police The Paris Police Prefecture ( ), officially the Police Prefecture (), is the unit of the French Ministry of the Interior that provides police, emergency services, and various administrative services to the population of the city of Paris and t ...

. Though it faced massive changes in function and structure over the years, the institution itself remained the same and was not replaced by a successor during the Turkish Revolution.

Function and mission

The Police Duties and Jurisdiction Law of 1934 (

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

: ''Polis Vazife ve Salâhiyet Kanunu'') establishes the fundamental mission of the TNP as to: * Protect the public order, persons and the immunity of residence, * Ensure the safety of the people, goods, and the public peace, * Provide assistance to the children in need of help, disabled persons, and other disadvantaged groups.

Structure

The TNP reports 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 ...

and is composed of 81 divisions, each for respective provinces, that make up several police regions that are bolstered by specialist units. In the provinces, it operates under the command of

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

s () and district governors (). Civil administrators () are responsible for the security and well-being of

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

s and

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

s. The Turkish National Police (TNP) operates within the network of the civil administration system and carries out its duties under the command and control of the civil authority. Town governors and heads of district administrations supervise the force. As of 2024, the centralized structure as it follows: * Inspection Board * Private Security Inspection Board * Executive Assistant Directorate * Legal Affairs Directorate * Personnel Directorate * Special Operations Directorate * Intelligence Directorate * Traffic Directorate * Presidential Protection Directorate * Combating Smuggling and Organized Crimes Directorate * Combating Narcotics Crimes Directorate * Internal Audit Unit * Police Academy As of 2023, the TNP has 352,188 personnel in law enforcement and public service positions, making it one of the largest public employers in Turkey. It was allocated an $8.6 billion budget in 2024. However, the government surged the "internal security" grants in the 2025 budget proposal, increasing the grand total for all law enforcement agencies to an all-time record of $19.5 billion.

Units

All Turkish police officers wear navy-blue uniforms and caps. Patrol cars can be identified by their unique blue-white design and the writing "''Polis''" (Turkish for "Police") on the side doors and hood. Commissioners and police chiefs wear silver stars rank on their shoulders and police directors wear gold stars. File:TURKEY - Sevik Kuvvet.jpg,

Çevik Kuvvet The Çevik Kuvvet () is the riot squad of the General Directorate of Security (Turkish National Police). It was established in 1982, replacing the ''Toplum Polisi''. Equipment includes TOMA water cannon vehicles, Otokar Akrep "scorpion" APCs ...

armpatch File:TURKEY - Deniz.jpg, Naval armpatch File:TURKEY - Trafic.jpg, Traffic armpatch File:TURKEY - Genel Hizmet.jpg, General Service armpatch File:TURKEY - Hava Limani.jpg, Airport armpatch PoliceStationOrdu

Some well-known police units in Turkey are: * ''Martılar'' () bike patrol units * ''Yunuslar'' () motorcycle units * ''Şahinler'' () motorcycle units of the traffic department *

TOMA Toma or TOMA may refer to: Places *Toma, Burkina Faso, a town in Nayala province * Toma Department, a department in Nayala province *Toma, Banwa, Burkina Faso, a town * Tōma, Hokkaidō, Japan, a town **Tōma Station, its railway station *Toma, a ...

armored water cannon designed for riot control *

() who handle riot control cases * Özel Harekat() which is the special response unit of the directorate (quite like the American

SWAT A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations. SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...

or the German

GSG 9 , formerly , is the police tactical unit of the German Federal Police (Bundespolizei). The unit is responsible for combatting terrorism and violent crime, including organized crime. In addition to its headquarters location in Sankt Augustin-H ...

) *

Karşı Atak Timi The Police Counter Attack Teams () or simply CAT is one of the special forces unit of the General Directorate of Security. Unlike the Police Special Operations Department (PÖH), the unit specializes in executive protection. Role These teams, ...

() close protection service for the president * Aviation Department File:Turkish Republic Day 2012 08.JPG, Police Academy during parade File:Turkish Bike cops (4).jpg, Motorcycle unit ''Yunuslar'' File:TOMA2.JPG, ''TOMA'' water cannon in Istanbul, 2013 File:FemaleRiotPoliceSquadTurkey (2).JPG, Female riot police squad (Çevik Kuvvet Polis) File:Istamboul - Bateau police.jpg, Police patrol boat File:PoliceDiver.jpg, Police diver File:Bell429 TurkishPolice Teknofest2019 (2).jpg, Bell 429 helicopter of Turkish Police Aviation Department

Training

The TNP receives two categories of training, the first being in-service training provided by the Department of Education operating directly under the General Directorate of Security; whereas pre-profession training is provided by the Police Academy. The Police Academy offers five different training programs: * Police Schools (2 years) * Police Training Centers (8 months) * Police Chiefs Training Center (1 year) * Security Sciences Institute * Higher Level Management Training There are other educational institutions that give expert in-service training, such as the Turkish International Academy Against Drugs and Organized Crime and the Crime Investigation and Research Education Center.

Ranks and insignia

Equipment

Firearms

Patrol Vehicles

Armoured Vehicles

Boats

* Ares 35 FPB -17 boats * ASBOT KN-35 * 57 patrol boats

Coastal Directorate of Security

* Multi-purpose fast lifeboats - 16 on order. * Emergency response tugboats - 2 on order. * Pilotage service boats - 6 on order.

Aircraft

Planned Acquisition : * New liaison and utility aircraft * BMC Tulga SUV

References

External links

General Directorate of Security

Directorate of Security, Foreign Relations Department

Police Association

* https://twitter.com/EmniyetGM {{Wikidatacoord, Q943607, display=title National law enforcement agencies of Turkey Government agencies established in 1845