Law Enforcement Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Law Enforcement Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran (NAJA) نیروی انتظامی جمهوری اسلامی ایران (ناجا‫)
Active	1991-present
Country	Iran
Size	300,000
Commanders
Current commander	Esmaeil Ahmadi Moghaddam

A Sergeant major of Naja during Mourning of Muharram

Law Enforcement Force of Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian: نیروی انتظامی جمهوری اسلامی ایران) also known as the Disciplinary Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran is the uniformed police force in Iran. The force was created in early 1992 by merging the police (Šahrbānī), Gendarmerie (Žāndārmerī) and Islamic Revolutionary Committees of Iran (Komītahā-ye enqelāb-e eslāmī-e Īrān) into a single force, it has more than 60,000 police personnel served under the Ministry of Interior and Justice, including border patrol personnel. The Police-110 unit specializes in rapid-response activities in urban areas and dispersing gatherings deemed dangerous to public order. Marine police have 100 inshore patrol and 50 harbor boats. In 2003, some 400 women became the first female members of the police force since the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

History

Intensely concerned with matters of internal security in the post-1953 environment, the Shah authorized the development of one of the most extensive systems of law enforcement agencies in the developing world. The Gendarmerie and the National Police gained in numbers and responsibilities. The secret police organization, SAVAK, gained special notoriety for its excessive zeal in "maintaining" internal security. But as in the regular armed forces, the shah's management style virtually eliminated all coordination among these agencies. He tended to shuffle army personnel back and forth between their ordinary duties and temporary positions in internal security agencies, in order to minimize the possibility of any organized coups against the throne. Added to this list of institutional shortcomings was agencies' all- important public image, cloaked in mystery and fear.

Tourism Police in Naghsh-i Jahan Square

November 13, 2013 - Muharram 9,1435 - Flags -Nishapur 98.JPG The Gendarmerie, numbering nearly 74,000 in 1979, was subordinate to the Ministry of Interior. Its law enforcement responsibilities extended to all rural areas and to small towns and villages of fewer than 5,000 inhabitants. The International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated its manpower at 70,000 in 1986. The Gendarmerie was dissolved in 1990 and its personnel were assigned to the INP.

The National Police of Iran operated with approximately 200,000 men in 1979, a figure that has not fluctuated much since. The National Police was also under the Ministry of Interior, and its responsibilities included all cities with more than 5,000 in population, at least 20 percent of the population. Additionally the National Police was responsible for passport and immigration procedures, issuance and control of citizens' identification cards, driver and vehicle licensing and registration, and railroad and airport policing. Some of these duties were absorbed into the Ministry of the Pasdaran during the early years of the Revolution, and cooperation between these two branches seemed extensive.

Since 1979, both these paramilitary organizations have undergone complete reorganizations. IRP leaders quickly appointed Gendarmerie and police officers loyal to the Revolution to revive and reorganize the two bodies under the Islamic Republic. Between 1979 and 1983, no fewer than seven officers were given top National Police portfolios. Colonel Khalil Samimi, appointed in 1983 by the influential Ali Akbar Nategh-Nouri, then Minister of Interior, who was credited with reorganizing the National Police according to the IRP's Islamic guidelines. The Gendarmerie followed a similar path. Seven appointments were made between 1979 and 1986, leading to a full reorganization. In addition to Brigadier General Ahmad Mohagheghi, the commander in the early republican period who was executed in late summer of 1980 and five colonels were purged. Colonel Ali Kuchekzadeh played a major role in reorganizing and strengthening the Gendarmerie after its near collapse in the early revolutionary period. The commander in 1987, Colonel Mohammad Sohrabi, had served in that position since February 1985 and was the first top officer to have risen from the ranks.

As of 1987, the National Police and the Gendarmerie reflected the ideology of the state. Despite their valuable internal security operations, the roles of both bodies were restricted by the rising influence of the Pasdaran and the Basij. The Gendarmerie was disbanded in 1990.

The Police–110 unit specializes in rapid-response activities in urban areas and dispersing gatherings deemed dangerous to public order. In 2003, some 400 women became the first female members of the police force since the 1978–79 Revolution.

Equipment

Weapons Heckler & Koch MP5 SIG Sauer P220 SIG Sauer P226 Heckler & Koch HK21 Smith & Wesson Model 10 cal. 38 Dragunov Electroshock weapon AK-47 Uzi FIM-92 Stinger Remington 870 PK machine gun M79 grenade launcher DShK

Cars Citroën Xantia Samand Mercedes-Benz C 240 Mercedes-Benz E 240 Mitsubishi Pajero Second generation Nissan Xterra N50 Toyota Land Cruiser 100 Series Toyota Hilux Sixth generation and Seventh generation Volkswagen Transporter Nissan Teana former cars: Nissan Patrol 160 Series Toyota Cressida

Motorcycles BMW R1200RT Honda CMX250C Honda CBX750

Aircraft Dassault Falcon 20 HESA IrAn-140 Aero Commander 690 Bell 205 Bell 206 Bell 212 Bell 214 Mil Mi-17 Cessna 206 Dorna D-139 Blue Bird Cessna 185

Historical secret police organizations

• National Organization for Intelligence and Security of Iran (SAVAK)

Secret police organizations

• Ministry of Intelligence and Security (VEVAK)

Paramilitary organizations

• Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution (Sepah-e Pasdaran-e Enghelab-e Eslami) Persian: سِپاهِ پاسدارانِ اِنقِلابِ اِسلامی‎ which is more like an army but internal security has been added to its duties.
• Basij (literally "Mobilization") – also Bassij or Baseej, or Persian: بسيج‎; also Baseej-e Mostaz'afin, (literally "Mobilization of the Oppressed);" and officially Nirouye Moqavemate Basij ("Basij Resistance Force") Persian: نیروی مقاومت بسیج‎

Other branches

Traffic Police

The Traffic Police of NAJA (Rahvar for short; Farsi: نیروی انتظامی جمهوری اسلامی ایرانپلیس راهنمایی و رانندگی ناجا), since 1991, is a law enfocement organization in Iran; a subset of the Law Enforcement Force of Islamic Republic of Iran

See also

• Crime in Iran

Notes

•  This article incorporates public domain material from the Library of Congress Country Studies website http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/.

External links

• Iranian police force
• Iranian traffic police
• LOC Iran study