National Police (France)
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The National Police (French: police nationale), formerly the Sûreté Nationale, is one of two national police forces and the main civil law enforcement agency of France, with primary jurisdiction in cities and large towns. The other main agency is the military Gendarmerie, with primary jurisdiction in smaller towns and rural and border areas. The National Police comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior and has about 145,699 employees (in April 2008).
The National Police operate mostly in large cities and towns. In that context:
- it conducts security operations (patrols, traffic control, identity checks...)
- under the orders and supervision of the Investigating magistrates of the judiciary, it conducts criminal enquiries, serves search warrants, etc.; it maintains specific services ("judicial police") for criminal enquiries.
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[edit] Organization
The police is divided into directorates, headed by the DGPN (Direction Générale de la Police nationale, General Directorate of the National Police) [1]:
- Direction de l'administration de la police nationale (Directorate of Administration of the National Police; DAPN)
- Direction de la formation de police nationale (Directorate of Training of the National Police; DFPN)
- Direction centrale de la police judiciaire (Central Directorate of Judicial Police; DCPJ) – major criminal investigations (known as "36 Quai des Orfèvres" in Paris) (It is actually located at 11 rue des Saussaies.)
- Direction centrale de la sécurité publique (Central Directorate of Public Security; DCSP) - uniformed patrol and response
- Groupes d'Intervention de la Police Nationale (Intervention Groups of the National Police; GIPN) - 9 regional SWAT teams
- Sous-Directorate Anti-Terroriste (Anti-Terrorism Sub-Directorate; SDAT) - elite counter-terrorist brigade
- Direction centrale de la police aux frontières (Central Directorate of Border Police; DCPAF)
- Inspection générale de la police nationale (Inspectorate General of the National Police; IPGN) - headed by the Inspector General and responsible for internal affairs
- Direction centrale des compagnies républicaines de sécurité (Central Directorate of the Republican Security Companies; DCCRS) - riot police commonly referred to as the CRS
- Service de coopération technique internationale de police (Technical International Police Co-operation Service; SCTIP)
- Service de protection des hautes personnalités (Important Persons Protection Service; SPHP) - VIP protection, responsible for the President of the French Republic Groupe de Sécurité de la Présidence de la République and foreign diplomats.
- The Préfecture de Police (Prefecture of Police) provides police and security services in the Paris area
- Recherche Assistance Intervention Dissuasion (Research, Assistance, Intervention, Deterrence; RAID) - counter-terrorist unit
[edit] Former directorates
As of 1 July 2008, the following two National Police directorates:
- Direction de la surveillance du territoire (Directorate of Territorial Surveillance; DST) - counter-intelligence, counterespionage, counterterrorism
- Direction centrale des renseignements généraux (Central Directorate of General Information; DCRG or RG) - records, research, analysis, and policing gambling and horse racing
were merged into one single domestic intelligence agency titled the Direction centrale du renseignement intérieur (DCRI). The DCRI was placed directly under the Ministry of the Interior.[1] The current director is Bernard Squarcini, then the director of the DST, who had also formerly served as second-in-command of the RG.
[edit] Ranks
The National Police is divided into three corps, in the terminology of the French Civil Service, in ascending order of seniority:
- The Corps de maîtrise et d'application (Authority and Enforcement Corps) corresponds approximately to the enlisted and non-commissioned ranks in a military force, or to constables and sergeants in a British-style civil police force.
 Gardien de la paix stagiaire (keeper of the peace, intern") 1st year after school. |
 Gardien de la paix (keeper of the peace") |
 Sous-brigadier, after 12 years of service. |
 Brigadier |
 Brigadier-chef |
 Brigadier-major |
- The Corps de commandement et d'encadrement (Command and Management Corps) corresponds approximately to the lower commissioned ranks of a military force, or to grades of inspector in a British-style civil police force. These ranks were previously known as inspecteurs if detectives or officiers de la paix if uniformed, although CRS officers always used the current ranks.
 Lieutenant student |
 Lieutenant intern |
 Lieutenant (formerly Officier de la paix or Inspecteur) |
 Capitaine (formerly Officer de la paix principal or Inspecteur principal) |
 Commandant (formerly Commandant or Inspecteur divisionnaire) |
- The Corps de conception et de direction (Conception and Direction Corps) corresponds approximately to the higher commissioned ranks of a military force, or to grades of superintendent and chief officers in a British-style civil police force.
 Commissaire de police (Police Commissary) |
 Commissaire principal (Principal Commissary) - abolished in 2006 |
 Commissaire divisionnaire (Divisional Commissary) |
 Contrôleur général (Controller General) |
 Inspecteur général (Inspector General) |
 Directeur des services actifs (Director of the Active Services) |
All the ranks insignia may be worn either on the shoulders or on the chest. In the latter they are squared-shaped instead of being rectangular.
Prior to 1995 two civilian corps ("Inspecteurs" and "Enquêteurs") existed in which plain-clothes officers were given the training and authority to conduct investigations. The closest Anglo-American equivalent is the detective.
The powers of making a full arrest, hearing suspects, overseeing searches ordered by the judiciary, etc., are restricted to members of the police or the gendarmerie with the qualification of "officer of judiciary police" (officier de police judiciaire or OPJ). Other officers are only "agents of judiciary police" (agents de police judiciaire or APJ) and have only limited authority, restricted to assisting the officers. See Law enforcement in France.
[edit] Equipment
[edit] Weapons
For many years the standard sidearm in the French Police National and the Gendarmerie Nationale was the Beretta 92FS. However, in 2003 both agencies made the biggest small weapons contract since World War II[citation needed] about 250,000 specially developed SIG SP 2022, based on the older SIG P226. The weapons are planned to stay in service until the year 2022.
[edit] Cars
While the vast majority of vehicles are screenprinted French brand (mainly Renault, Citroen and Peugeot), some service vehicles are provided by Ford and Opel. Plain clothes officers or specialised branches use vehicles from a variety of builders.
 Undercover Police Car near the Eiffel Tower (Peugeot 607) |
[edit] Aircraft inventory
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The Police operates 45 helicopters.
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Versions | In service[2] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aérospatiale Alouette III |  France |
utility helicopter | SE 3160
SA 316 SA 319B |
3
1 8 |
|
| Eurocopter EC 145 |  European Union |
utility helicopter | 1 | ||
| Eurocopter Ecureuil | European Union |
utility helicopter | AS 350B
AS 350BA AS 350B-1 |
22
5 4 |
|
| Eurocopter Fennec | European Union |
utility helicopter | AS 550U-2 | 1 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Official announcement of the DCRI's launch on the website of the French Ministry of the Interior.
- ^ "World Military Aircraft Inventory", Aerospace Source Book 2007, Aviation Week & Space Technology, January 15, 2007.
[edit] External links
- Official site of the French MOI
- Official site of the Paris Prefecture of police
- Unofficial site of the National Police
