The Directorate General for National Security (DGSN; Arabic: المديرية العامة للأمن الوطني, French: Direction Générale de la Sûreté Nationale) is the national civil police force of Algeria. It polices Algeria's larger cities and urban areas. The Sûreté is part of the Ministry of Interior and is charged with maintaining law and order, protecting life and property, investigating crimes, and apprehending offenders. It also performs other routine police functions, including traffic control.
Directorate General for National Security المديرية العامة للأمن الوطني | |
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Badge of the National Police. | |
Agency overview | |
Formed | 22 July 1962 |
Jurisdictional structure | |
National agency | Algeria |
Operations jurisdiction | Algeria |
Governing body | Cabinet of Algeria |
General nature | |
Operational structure | |
Overseen by | Direction générale de la police nationale |
Headquarters | Algiers, Algeria |
Agency executive |
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Website | |
Official website |
Organization
editThe DGNS is headed by a Director General and in 2007 consisted of a force of 130,000, including specialist operational and investigative branches and supporting services.[2]
The judicial police branch is responsible for criminal investigations, working in close coordination with the Office of the Public Prosecutor in the Ministry of Justice. Police are assigned to the capitals of the wilayat are under the nominal control of the individual governors. A special riot police force is equipped with modern riot-control gear. Although the police were able to cope with urban disturbances and violence during the early and mid-1980s, the military had to be called in to help quell the severe riots in late 1988.[3]
Internal security
editElements of the DGNS nationale also play a role in countering threats to the government arising from political subversion. The Sûreté assigns police contingents to work with customs inspectors at legal points of entry to control illegal activities. Their main concerns are apprehending undesirable immigrants and contraband traffickers. The Département du Renseignement et de la Sécurité (DRS) is the Algerian state intelligence service. It is separate from Directorate General for National Security and was an active player in the Algerian Civil War of the 1990s.[4][5]
Weapons
edit- Glock 17
- Beretta 92
- Caracal pistol
- Smith & Wesson M&P
- AKM
- Beretta M12
- HK MP5
- SKS Commonly Seen And Used Since Algerian Civil War In The 1990s
- UP19 was held by low ranks in the 2000's which is still being used.
Vehicles
editMotorcycles
editCars
editSpecial vehicles
editAerial equipment
editSee also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Directeur Général de la Sûreté Nationale". www.dgsn.dz (in French).
- ^ "About this Collection | Country Studies | Digital Collections | Library of Congress". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
- ^ Library of Congress Country Study Algeria
- ^ Evans and Phillips (2008), passim
- ^ Jeanne Kervyn and François Gèze. L’organisation des forces de répression. Comité Justice pour l'Algérie, Dossier n° 16. September 2004.
Notes
edit This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. Country Studies. Federal Research Division.