State Police (Latvia)


Latvian Police
Latvijas Valsts policija
Law enforcement agency overview
Formed 5 December 1918 (1918-12-05)
Jurisdiction Government of Latvia
Headquarters Čiekurkalna 1.līnija 1 k- 4, Rīga
Law enforcement agency executive
Parent Law enforcement agency Ministry of the Interior
Website www.vp.gov.lv

The State Police of Latvia (also Latvian State Police, Latvian: Latvijas Valsts policija) is the national law enforcement agency of Latvia. It is subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior. The agency is divided into five Regional Administrations (Riga, Kurzeme, Latgale, Vidzeme, Zemgale), which are responsible for policing priorities and the availability of public security police.[2]

History

The founding date of the Latvian Police is considered to be 5 December 1918, when the transitional government of the newly-proclaimed Republic of Latvia, the People's Council of Latvia, approved the Temporary Regulations on the Internal Security Organization (Latvian: Pagaidu noteikumi par iekšējās apsardzības organizēšanu), which regulated the structure of the police force and put it under jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior of Latvia, led by Miķelis Valters. The date is now commemorated in Latvia as the Day of the Police. The regulations ordered the formation of 23 police districts - one for each district of Latvia and 6 prefectures of the largest cities (Riga, Liepāja, Daugavpils, Jelgava, Rēzekne, Ventspils).[3]

Due to the ongoing Latvian War of Independence 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 and its allies had liberated large parts of the country from the Red 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 (Political Police, Politiskā policija). The Latvian Criminal Police became a member of Interpol in 1929.[4] After the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940, the police force was dissolved and former servicemen persecuted under the Soviet regime. Law enforcement in the Latvian SSR was primarily the task of the Soviet militsiya.

After the restoration of the independence of Latvia, the Latvian Police was re-established in 1991, with one of the first units being the 1st Police (Patrol) Battalion on 30 April 1991. The main task of the battalion, which was the first armed formations of the Latvian government, was to provide security of the Supreme Council of Latvia and strategically important buildings (government offices, radio and television). In 1992, the battalion was renamed as the Security Service of the Republic of Latvia, which was merged into the Military Police in 2010.[5] Latvia rejoined Interpol in 1992.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "About us > Chief of the State police". www.vp.gov.lv. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  2. ↑ "About us > The State Police of Latvia". www.vp.gov.lv. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  3. ↑ Žīgure, Anna (1998). Latvijas policijas vēsture, 2. sējums; 7. sējums. Fakts. ISBN 9789984925103.
  4. ↑ "History - Ministry of the Interior". www.iem.gov.lv. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  5. ↑ "1. Policijas bataljons - Vēsture (1st Police Batallion - History)". bataljons.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  6. ↑ "Latvia / Europe / Member countries / Internet / Home - INTERPOL". www.interpol.int. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.