State Police (Latvia)


The State Police of Latvia 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, which are responsible for policing priorities and the availability of public security police.

History

The founding date of the Latvian Police is considered to be December 5th, 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, 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.
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, Criminal and Secret Police. The Latvian Criminal Police became a member of Interpol in 1929. 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 from the base of the militsiya in 1991, with one of the first units being the 1st Police Battalion on April 30th, 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. In 1992, the battalion was renamed as the Security Service of the Republic of Latvia, which was merged into the Military Police in 2010. Latvia rejoined Interpol in 1992.

Organization

The agency is led by the Chief of the State Police. Currently an Interim Chief - former head of the Criminal Police, General Andrejs Grišins - has been leading the agency since 20 February 2020, when General Ints Ķuzis resigned in order to run as a candidate for the 2020 Riga City Council election. Ķuzis had been in office since 2 August 2011 and previously served as the head of the Riga Department of the State Police.
In 2015, the State Police consisted of:
The Latvian police ranks are similar to the ones used by the Latvian Armed Forces.
Rank in LatvianRank in EnglishRank insignia
ĢenerālisGeneral
PulkvedisColonel
PulkvežleitnantsLieutenant Colonel
MajorsMajor
KapteinisCaptain
VirsleitnantsFirst Lieutenant
LeitnantsSecond Lieutenant
Virsnieka vietnieksWarrant Officer
VirsseržantsFirst Sergeant
SeržantsSergeant
KaprālisCorporal
IerindnieksPrivate
KadetsCadet

Equipment

Vehicles

In 1991, the Latvian State Police first adopted a grey-white vehicle livery, which was designed by Gunārs Glūdiņš, a former professor of the Art Academy of Latvia. The design was based on the black-and-white look of American police and military vehicles. The first iteration of the design also included stripes in red. A similar white-red version was adopted by the State Fire and Rescue Service, a green-white - by Latvian municipal police forces and an early grey-white version by the Security Service of Parliament and State President, as well as other services.
In June 2018, while celebrating its 100th anniversary, the Police unveiled a new livery with blue, lime green and gray elements arranged similarly to a Latvian folk ornament, the Brush of Māra. The new design was designed by a group of students and professors at the Art Academy. The new design is scheduled to replace the old livery by 2020. There was some discussion over the choice, notably by Glūdiņš, who remarked that the new version was "very lesbian and feminine" but didn't condemn it and acknowledged that the old design didn't fit well on some of the newer patrol cars. New uniforms were also presented later the same year.

Current vehicles