Everything about Gendarmerie totally explained
A
gendarmerie or
gendarmery (or /ˌʒɑndɑrməˈriː/ after the French) is a
military body charged with
police duties among civilian populations. The members of such a body are called
gendarmes. The term
maréchaussée (or marshalcy) can also be used (for example
Royal Marechaussee) but is now uncommon, except in the Netherlands.
Etymology
The word
gendarme comes from
Old French gens d'armes, meaning
men-at-arms. Historically, during the
Late Medieval to the
Early Modern period, the term referred to a heavily armoured cavalryman of noble birth, primarily serving in the French army (see:
Gendarme (historical)). The word gained policing connotations after the
French Revolution when the Maréchaussée of the
Ancien Regime was renamed the Gendarmerie. Before this, a gendarmerie was known as a
maréchaussée (marshalcy).
In the
United Kingdom, there's a body called
Her Majesty's Bodyguard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms.
Gentlemen at Arms is in fact a near etymological equivalent to the term
gendarme. This body is, however, purely ceremonial and isn't considered a gendarmerie.
Historically the spelling in English is
gendarmery, but the French spelling
gendarmerie is now more common. The
Oxford English Dictionary (OED) still uses
gendarmery as the principal spelling while
Merriam-Webster uses
gendarmerie as the principal spelling.
Title and status
These forces are normally titled "gendarmerie", but gendarmeries may bear other titles, for instance
Carabiniers in
Italy and
Chile, or
Guardia Civil in
Spain.
Some forces which are no longer considered military retain the title "gendarmerie" for reasons of tradition. For instance, the French language title of the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police is
Gendarmerie royale du Canada (GRC) (for example Royal Gendarmerie of Canada) because it was traditionally a military force (although not part of the army) and because it retains the honorific status of a military force. The
Argentine Gendarmerie is a military force (in terms of training, identity and public perception, and it was involved in combat in the
Falklands War), but for legal purposes is a "security force", not an "armed force", because this is necessary under Argentine law in order to allow jurisdiction over the civilian population.
Since every country uses institutional terms such as "gendarmerie" as it wishes, there are cases in which the term may become confusing. For instance, the
Swiss cantonal "gendarmeries" are not military, and are in fact the uniformed police of French-speaking cantons. In Chile, confusingly, the word "gendarmerie" can for historic reasons be used to refer to the prison service, while as previously mentioned the actual gendarmerie force is called the "carabineros".
As a result of their duties within the civilian population, gendarmeries are sometimes described as "
para-military" rather than "
military" forces (essentially in the English-speaking world where policing is rarely associated with military forces) although this description rarely corresponds to their official status and capabilities. Gendarmes are often deployed in military situations, sometimes in their own country, and often in humanitarian deployments abroad.
A gendarmerie may come under the authority of a ministry of defence (for example
Italy or
France) or a ministry of the interior (for example
Argentina and
Romania), or even both at once (for example
Chile and
Italy). Generally there's some coordination between a ministry of defence and a ministry of the interior over the use of gendarmes.
Gendarmeries are police services, but in many countries (for example France) the word "police" normally implies civilian police. Gendarmeries are
military police, however the term "military police" can be misleading, since in English it carries strong implications of policing within the military ("
provost" policing), which isn't the basic purpose of a gendarmerie (although in many countries it's a task which gendarmes carry out). In countries where the gendarmerie and civilian police co-exist there may exist rivalries and tensions between the forces. There may also be different reputations, with the gendarmeries generally having a better reputation than civilian police.
In some cases, a police service's military links are ambiguous and it can be unclear whether a force should be defined as a gendarmerie or not, (for example
Mexico's Policia Federal Preventiva,
Brazilian
Polícia Militar, or the former
South African Police until
1994). Services such as the Italian
Guardia di Finanza wouldn't normally be defined as a gendarmerie (but at times might be) since the service is both of ambiguous military status and doesn't have general policing duties in the civilian population. In
Russia, the
Interior Troops are military units with quasi-police duties.
In comparison to civilian police forces, gendarmeries may provide a more disciplined force whose military capabilities (for example armored group in France with
armored personnel carriers and
heavy armoured cars with 90 mm cannons) make them more capable of dealing with armed groups and with all types of violence. On the other hand, the necessity of a more stringent selection process for military service, especially in terms of physical prowess and health, restricts the pool of potential recruits in comparison to those a civilian police force could select from.
Gendarmeries may also provide various military or police services. For instance in France, the gendarmerie is in charge of crowd and riot control (
Gendarmerie Mobile), counter-terrorism and hostage rescue (
GIGN and
EPIGN), maritime surveillance, police at sea and coast guard (
Gendarmerie maritime), control and security at airports and air traffic police (
Gendarmerie des transports aériens), official buildings guard, honorary services and protection of the
President (
Garde Républicaine), mountain rescue (
Peloton de Gendarmerie de Haute Montagne) and security of
nuclear weapons sites.
Role in modern conflict
Gendarmes play an important role re-establishing law and order in conflict areas, a task which is suited to their purpose, training and capabilities. Gendarmeries are widely used in peacekeeping operations, for instance in the former
Yugoslavia.
French influence
The use of military organisations to police civilian populations is common to many time periods and cultures. Although it can't be considered a French concept, the French gendarmerie has been the most influential model of such an organisation.
Many countries that were once under French influence have a gendarmerie. For instance, both
Belgium and
Austria had gendarmeries through
Napoleonic influence, but both these gendarmeries, have merged with the civil police, in 2001 and 2005 respectively. Many former French colonies, especially in
Africa, also have gendarmeries.
A common gendarmerie symbol is a flaming
grenade, which was first used as a gendarmerie symbol by the French.
List of gendarmeries
List of modern gendarmeries
List of former gendarmeries
Austria: Bundesgendarmerie (1849–2005) Became basis of Austrian Bundespolizei in 2005
Belgium: Gendarmerie/Rijkswacht (civilian status from 1991; merged with federal police in 2001)
Czechoslovakia: Československé četnictvo (1918-1939)
Crete: Cretan Gendarmerie
Denmark: Grænsegendarmeriet (1838–1958), De Blå Gendarmer (1885–1897)
Germany: Gendarmerie or Landjäger in some territories until the mid-20th century, Federal Border Guard (Bundesgrenzschutz) until 1994
Greece: chorofilaki merged in 1984 with astinomia poleon and formed the current Greek national police elliniki astinomia
Hungary: Csendőrség (until 1945), after the change of the regime in 1989, a gendarmerie-type police force within the frameworks of the Hungarian National Police: Rendészeti Biztonsági Szolgálat
Italian East Africa - Italian Africa Police
Italian Salò republic - Italian National Republican Guard
Italian Somaliland: Somalia Gendarmerie (British military administration, WWII)
Japan:
- Kempeitai (literally, corps of law soldiers), part of the Imperial Japanese Army were established in 1881 as a French-style gendarmerie, and disbanded in 1945.
- The Tokeitai (特警隊, Tokkeitai?, Naval Secret Police) was the Imperial Japanese Navy's military police, they were equivalent to the Imperial Japanese Army's Kempeitai. They were also the smallest military police service.
- Special Higher Police (特別高等警察, Tokubetsu Kōtō Keisatsu?), often shortened to Tokkō (特高, Tokkō ?) was a police force established in 1911 in Japan, specifically to investigate and control political groups and ideologies deemed to be a threat to public order. Its main function was as a civilian counterpart to the military's Kempeitai,
- National Rural Police- National force in Japan until formation of JSDF and NPA
Luxembourg: Luxembourg Gendarmerie Gendarmerie Grand-Ducale (merged with police in 2000)
Mexico: Rurales (Spanish for "Rurals") was the name commonly used to designate the Mexican Guardia Rural (Rural Guard): a force of mounted police or gendarmerie that existed between 1861 and 1914. In modern Mexico the name is applied to members of a part-time Rural Defence Corps
Palestine (British Mandate): Palestine Gendarmerie
Philippines: 1981 - 1989: Philippine Constabulary (until it became the basis of the Philippine National Police)
Russian Empire: Special Corps of Gendarmes (1836–1917)
US Forces in West Germany: United States Constabulary (1946–1952)
United States Indian Territory: LighthorseFurther Information
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