Groupes urbains de sécurité (GUS) (also known as "Croatia") ( en, Urban Security Groups) is a defunct Moroccan

special police Special police usually describes a police force or unit within a police force whose duties and responsibilities are significantly different from other forces in the same country or from other police in the same force, although there is no consiste ...

unit which dealt with

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

matters using the "rapid intervention approach."

Background

GUS was established by the Direction Générale de la Sûreté Nationale (DGSN) (the main national

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

body) on October 17, 2005. The initiative lied within the scope of a general

reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...

, whose principle was "the Police force, near to you for your safety". In October 2006, GUS comprised between 4,000 and 5,000 agents. The GUS were considered first-aid workers and all members spoke

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. They were attached to

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements ...

s. Because of its nature as an

auxiliary police Auxiliary police, also called special police, are usually the part-time reserves of a regular police force. They may be armed or unarmed. They may be unpaid volunteers or paid members of the police service with which they are affiliated. The po ...

, GUS, for example did not have the right to confiscate

driver licence A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public ...

s or to file official reports. Before its disbanding, GUS comprised 6 groups. They were equipped with

Peugeot Partner Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and then ...

vans and

Honda motorcycles is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

. Because of reforms within the national police and army bodies, the body was disbanded on October 16, 2006, exactly one year later. The members of the GUS were redeployed to other police departments such as

criminal investigation Criminal investigation is an applied science that involves the study of facts that are then used to inform criminal trials. A complete criminal investigation can include searching, interviews, interrogations, evidence collection and preservat ...

departments and judiciary police.

Criticism and disbanding

While many Moroccans regarded the presence of GUS as a relief, many others considered it as a step back to the rule of the

Makhzen Makhzen (Arabic: , Berber: ''Lmexzen'') is the governing institution in Morocco and in pre-1957 Tunisia, centered on the monarch and consisting of royal notables, top-ranking military personnel, landowners, security service bosses, civil servants ...

.The Moroccan authoritative system during the rule of former King

Hassan II Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to: People * Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name *Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scotti ...

The disbanding came after many criticisms about excesses or

abuses of power Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

were noted. Some irresponsible actions of certain members of this police turned over the public opinion which became discreditory.

External links

''Détention arbitraire / Poursuites judiciaires / Mauvais traitements''
— FIDH.org
''Morocco disbands riot police unit''
— Richard Hamilton for

BBC Online BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and BBC Sport, Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, t ...

Notes and sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Groupes Urbains De Securite Law enforcement in Morocco fr:Police du Maroc#Groupes urbains de sécurité

Background

Criticism and disbanding

See also

External links

Notes and sources