Police Corps (Slovakia)

Police Corps
Policajný zbor
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Agency overview
Formed1993
Jurisdictional structure
National agencySlovakia
Operations jurisdictionSlovakia
Governing bodyMinistry of Interior of the Slovak Republic
Operational structure
HeadquartersBratislava, Slovakia
Agency executive
  • Col. Ľubomír Solák[1], President of the Police Corps
Facilities
StationsMain Headquarters: 1
Regional Headquarters: 8
District Headquarters: 53
Total: 62

The Police Corps (Slovak: Policajný zbor, PZ), commonly known as Slovak Republic Police (Slovak: Polícia Slovenskej republiky), is the national police force of Slovakia.

Governed by the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic, the Police Corps is part of and extremely active in both Europol and Interpol.

Along with serving in Slovakia, the Police Corps along with the Customs Administration of the Slovak Republic has been active in neighboring European countries as well, including Austria, Hungary and Poland.

History

The independent police force in Slovakia was established on 1 March 1991 under the name of Police Corps of the Slovak Republic (Slovak: Policajný zbor Slovenskej republiky) by renaming the Slovak part of the Public Security (Slovak: Verejná bezpečnosť).

After the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in the end of 1992, the agency was renamed to Police Corps (Slovak: Policajný zbor) in effect from 1 September 1993.[2][3] However, in its logo, the old name is still being used.

Equipment

Vehicles

Peugeot patrol vehicle of the Police Corps in 2009
Mounted police in Bratislava

The Police Corps operated the following fleet of vehicles:

Aircraft

Weapons

Weapon Origin
CZ 75  Czech Republic
Glock 17  Austria
Heckler & Koch MP5  Germany
APC-9   Switzerland
Benelli M3  Italy
Vz. 58  Czechoslovakia

Uniform

An Officer on duty

Typical Slovak police uniforms consist of a black or dark green beret. The vest, shirt or jacket will have Polícia scripted on the reverse. A tactical belt and black slacks follow. Black combat boots or shoes depending on region or rank.

Weather also plays a key role, officers typically opt for short sleeves in summer and spring and long sleeve or jackets during the winter months. Uniforms are typically unisex and do not vary from male to female.

Branches

Branches within include:

  • Organized Crime Bureau
  • Judicial and Criminal Police Bureau and the Border and Aliens Police Bureau
  • Traffic Police
  • Railway Police
  • Riot Railway Police
  • Financial Police
  • Riot Police
    • Police Emergency Units of Riot Police departments of the Regional Police Headquarters of the Police Force (Slovak: Pohotovostné policajné útvary OPP KR PZ)
    • Special protection department of the Office for protection of state officials and diplomatic missions (Slovak: Odbor špeciálnej ochrany Úradu pre ochranu ústavných činiteľov a diplomatických misií MV SR)
  • Criminal Police
  • Border and Foreigner Police
  • Toll Police

References

  1. ^ "Prezident Policajného zboru, Ministerstvo vnútra SR - PolÃcia".
  2. ^ Šteinbach, Miroslav (2001). Dvacet let Policie České republiky (in Czech). Prague: Muzeum Policie České republiky. pp. 6–11. ISBN 978-80-260-0974-0.
  3. ^ "171/1993 Z. z." slov-lex.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  4. ^ "Bell 429 in Letecký útvar Ministerstva vnútra Slovenskej Republiky".