Royal Gendarmerie of Skandinavia
| Kongelige Gendarmeri Royal Gendarmerie | |
|---|---|
 Coat of Arms of Kongelige Gendarmeri. | |
| Founded | 1967 |
| Country | Skandinavia |
| Size | 79,000 Professional men and women |
| Part of | Forsvaret |
| Commanders | |
| KoKG | Lt. General Bjarne Nilsson |
| Øverstkommanderende Commander-in-Chief | Frederik II of Skandinavia |
Kongelige Gendarmeri, (Royal Gendarmerie), is a military law enforcement agency created by the new Skandinavian Government in 1967. It is a paramilitary force in charge of public safety, with police duties among the civilian population. It is also a military police / provost force. It has a strength of more than 79,000 persons (in 2017). Kongelige Gendarmeri, KG, works close with the the Fylkepolitiet (county police) of every Fylke.
Tasks
Kongelige Gendarmeri is a police organisation with a military status, under the jurisdiction of the Forsvarsdepartementet (Ministry of Defence), but mostly working for the Justis- og Sikkerhetdepartementet (Ministry of Justice and Security). The KG performs the following duties:
- Maintaining and restoring the public order:
- Crowd and riot control
- Policing of the countryside and small towns with populations under 10,000. (Policing task in towns and cities over 10,000 are carried only by the Fylkepolitiet).
- Counter-terrorism activities
- Criminal investigations under judiciary supervision
- Fighting illegal immigration
- Fighting international crime
- Counter drugs operations
- Anti-smuggling operations
- Cyber and Internet crime
- Coast and river guard
- Highway patrol
- Guarding the national borders
- Guarding government and public buildings
- Security and police work at all civilian airports
- Safety of prisons and safeguarding of prisoners
- Weapons licenses and arms control
- Hunting permits
- Enviromentan law enforcement
- Police deployments abroad (embassies)
- Intelligence and counter-intelligence gathering
- Military police functions for the Armed Forces
Organization
Generaldirektoratet
The Generaldirektoratet for Gendarmeriet is the central structure of the Kongelige Gendarmeri under the command of a Generaldirektør appointed by the Forvarsminister (Minister of Defence) with the rank of Major General. The Generaldirektør is assisted by 4 deputies with the rank of Brigade General.
The task of the 'Generaldirektoratet is to plan, manage, coordinate and control the KG Fylkesbataljoner, the KG Mobilbataljoner and the KG Spesialenhet. Attached to the Generaldirektoratet there are logistics, administrative and human resources departments.
The Generaldirektoratet also acts as an interface of the organization with the other law enforcement agencies.
KG Fylkesbataljoner
The KG Fylkesbataljoner is the most numerous part of the Kongelige Gendarmeri in charge of general police work throughout the national territory. Its territorial divisions are based on the administrative divisions of Skandinavia, particularly the Fylker from which the KG Fylkesbataljoner derives its name. The KG Fylkesbataljoner has presence and structure in every Fylker but it is organized at the regional level.
In addition to the general police units, it has specialised units:
- Prosecution Authority units
- Surveillance and intervention platoons
- Specialized brigades for the prevention of different types of crimes
- Highway and traffic patrol units
- Mountain units
- Environmental units
KG Mobilbataljoner
KG Mobilbataljoner is divided in 21 regional headquarters. Its main responsibilities are:
- crowd and riot control
- general security in support of the Departmental Gendarmerie
- military and defense missions
- missions that require large amounts of personnel (Vigipirate counter-terrorism patrols, searches in the countryside...)
KG Spesialenhet
KG Spesialenhet is an elite law enforcement and special operations unit numbering about 350 personnel. Its missions include counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, surveillance of national threats, protection of government officials and targeting of organized crime. Created initially as a relatively small SWAT unit specialized in sensitive hostage situations, it has since grown into a larger and more diversified force. Most of its missions are classified and members are not allowed to be publicly photographed.
KG Etterretningsenhet
KG Etterretningsenhet is integrated under the Operational Deputy Directorate of the Kongelige Gendarmeri. As defined in the law, its responsibilities are: "organize, direct and manage the obtaining, receiving, processing, analysis and dissemination of information of interest for order and public safety in the scope of the functions of the Kongelige Gendarmeri and the operational use of information, especially in anti-terrorist matters at the national and international level".
Investigation and prosecution
The Skandinavisk Påtalemyndigheten (Skandinavian Prosecution Authority) is integrated into the Kongelige Gendarmeri. The authority is divided into a higher and lower authority, with the higher authority (public prosecutor) being a separate government agency and the lower authority (police prosecutor) being members of the police. The latter includes chief of police, deputy chief of police, police prosecutors and deputy police prosecutors. In questions of prosecution the police counties are subordinate to the Skandinavisk Påtalemyndigheten and in other matters subordinate to the Kongelige Gendarmeri.