Typical police van in the streets of Paris.
French National Police car
CRS in riot control gear, with helmets ready
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 150,000 employees.
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.
Organization
The police is divided into directorates, headed by the DGPN (Direction Générale de la Police nationale, General Direction of the National Police) [1]:
Former directorates
As of 1 July 2008, the following two National Police directorates:
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.
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 ("guardian of the peace, intern") 1st year after school. Gardien de la paix ("guardian of the peace") Sous-brigadier, after 12 years of service. Brigadier Brigadier-chef Brigadier-major
- The Corps de commande 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.
Shoulder Insigna, from left to right : Police Commissioner, Divisional Commissioner, Controller General, Inspector General, Director of the Active Services
-
- Commissaire de police (Police Commissioner)
- Commissaire principal (Principal Commissioner) - abolished in 2006
- Commissaire divisionnaire (Divisional Commissioner)
- 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 private investigator.
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 Police in France.
Equipment
Autos
Generally, in the provinces, a police station has six vehicles (four cars and two vans), eight motorcycles and two cars CRS (a van and an unmarked car ). Most police vehicles are French brands such as Renault and Citroen but other French brands are also seen, like Peugeot.
Aircraft inventory
The Police operate 45 helicopters.
References
External links
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