The Mauritius Police Force (MPF) is the national law enforcement agency of

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It inc ...

. The MPF carries out police, security and military functions on the island nation, with about 12,500 police officers under the command of the Commissioner of Police and is part of the Home Affairs Division which operates under the aegis of the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

's Office. Military advisers from

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and No ...

work with the Special Mobile Force, the National Coast Guard, and the Police Helicopter Squadron, and Mauritian police officers are trained in

, the

, and France.

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

provide training to National Coast Guard officers in such fields as seamanship and maritime law enforcement.

Branches

Anti Drug and Smuggling Unit

The Anti Drug and Smuggling Unit (ADSU) is the branch of the MPF which ensures the legal repression of drugs proliferation in Mauritius and the Outer Islands.

Anti Robbery Squad

In 2015 then commissioner of police (CP) Mario Nobin instigated the Anti Robbery Squad (ARS) which replaced the defunct Rottweilers SSU. CP Nobin appointed Inspector Seewoo to head the ARS in 2017. But Seewoo's promotion to Chief Inspector raised concerns amongst his colleagues. By 2020 the new commissioner of police Servansingh transferred Seewoo to Pointe-aux-Cannonniers before dismantling the ARS.

National Coast Guard

The National Coast Guard (NCG) is a branch of the MPF that was established in 1988 and consists of No. 1 Patrol Vessel Squadron and the Maritime Air Squadron. The NCG has been modernising its fleet introducing a ''Kora''-class Offshore Patrol Vessel CGS ''Barracuda'' in 2015, two ''Sarojini Naidu''-class patrol vessels CGS ''Victory'' in 2016 and CGS ''Valiant'' in 2017 and ten 14.5m GSL Fast Interceptor Boats in 2016. CGS-Valiant (cropped)

The Maritime Air Squadron (MAS) was established in 1990 and operates a fixed wing fleet of three HAL Dornier 228 and one

Britten-Norman Defender The Britten-Norman Defender is a multi-role utility transport aircraft, manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. It is the military version of the Britten-Norman Islander, developed for roles such as utility transport, casualty ev ...

BN-2T for search-and-rescue missions and surveillance of territorial waters. The Defender entered service in 1992, the first Dornier 228 entered service in 1990, the second in 2004 and third in 2016. The Do 288 can be fitted with

7.62mm The 7.62 mm caliber is a nominal caliber used for a number of different cartridges. Historically, this class of cartridge was commonly known as .30 caliber, the imperial unit and customary unit equivalent, and was most commonly used for i ...

gun pod A gun pod is a detachable pod or pack containing machine guns, autocannons, revolver cannons, or rotary cannons and ancillaries, mounted externally on a vehicle such as a military aircraft which may or may not also have its own guns. Descripti ...

s. The NCG has a maritime tactical unit established in 2010 the Commando Unit or Commandos Special Force. The Commando Unit trains with the Indian Navy's

MARCOS Marcos may refer to: People with the given name ''Marcos'' *Marcos (given name) Sports ;Surnamed * Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century) * Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer * Nélson Marcos, Portug ...

and with the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Forc ...

2nd Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment The 2nd Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment (french: 2e Régiment de Parachutistes d'Infanterie de Marine, 2e RPIMa) is an airborne regiment of the French Army created in 1947. The regiment is heir to the traditions of the 2nd Colonial Command ...

(2^e RPIMa) based in

Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island o ...

part of FAZSOI.

Vessels

Aircraft

In March 1990 one radar equipped HAL Dornier 228 was ordered from India to form a maritime surveillance element by July 1991. This aircraft was reinforced in 1992 by a single twin turbo prop BN-2T Maritime Defender for coastal patrol work. A second HAL Dornier 228 was added to the fleet in 2004 and a third in 2016.

National Security Service

The National Security Service (NSS) is the branch of the MPF which handles matters of national security. It was formerly known as National Intelligence Unit (NIU) and State Security Service (SSS). During

British rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

it was known as Special Branch.

Police Helicopter Squadron

Mauritius National Coast Guard helicopter

The Police Helicopter Squadron (PHS) is a branch of the MPF that was established in 1974 and its main roles are

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

and

casualty evacuation Casualty evacuation, also known as CASEVAC or by the callsign Dustoff or colloquially Dust Off, is a military term for the emergency patient evacuation of casualties from a combat zone. Casevac can be done by both ground and air. "DUSTOFF" is ...

both inland and at sea; combatting

gandia Gandia ( es, Gandía) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, eastern Spain on the Mediterranean. Gandia is located on the Costa del Azahar (or ''Costa dels Tarongers''), south of Valencia and north of Alicante. Vehicles ca ...

cultivation; traffic patrol and escort of convoys; and

VIP A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples inc ...

transport. The helicopter fleet consists of four HAL Chetak, one

Eurocopter Fennec The Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters) AS550 Fennec (now H125M) and AS555 Fennec 2 are lightweight, multipurpose military helicopters manufactured by Eurocopter Group (now Airbus Helicopters). Based on the AS350 Ecureuil and AS355 Ecureuil 2 ...

AS555 and one

HAL Dhruv The HAL Dhruv is a utility helicopter designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in November 1984. The helicopter first flew in 1992; however, its development was prolonged due to multiple factors including the Indian Army's ...

. The Dhruv helicopter entered service in 2009. Two refurbished Chetak helicopters were gifted by

in 2016.

Special Mobile Force

Mauritius does not have a

standing army A standing army is a permanent, often professional, army. It is composed of full-time soldiers who may be either career soldiers or conscripts. It differs from army reserves, who are enrolled for the long term, but activated only during wars or ...

; the Special Mobile Force (SMF) a branch of the MPF, is a paramilitary force established in 1960 following the withdrawal of two companies of the British East African land forces. The SMF recruited World War II veterans and select police officers and was commanded by British commanders until 1978. The 1,500-member Special Mobile Force (SMF) and the 500-member National Coast Guard are the only two paramilitary units in Mauritius. Both units are composed of police officers on lengthy rotations to those services.

IISS The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is a British research institute or think tank in the area of international affairs. Since 1997, its headquarters have been Arundel House in London, England. The 2017 Global Go To Think T ...

''Military Balance 2007''

''Military Balance 2010''''World Aircraft Information Files''; Brightstar Publishing; File 331, Sheet 4 The SMF is a

motorized infantry Motorized infantry is infantry that is transported by trucks or other motor vehicles. It is distinguished from mechanized infantry, which is carried in armoured personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles, and from light infantry, which ...

battalion with five companies, an engineering squadron, and a mobile wing comprising two squadrons equipped with armored vehicles. The SMF training is based on conventional military tactics focused on internal security. It engages extensively in civic works projects. The SMF has a

police tactical unit A police tactical unit (PTU) is a specialized police unit trained to handle situations that are beyond the capabilities of ordinary law enforcement units because of the level of violence (or risk of violence) involved. A police tactical unit's tas ...

established in 1979, the Groupement d’Intervention de la Police Mauricienne (GIPM). The GIPM trains with the French

National Gendarmerie The National Gendarmerie (french: Gendarmerie nationale, ) is one of two national law enforcement forces of France, along with the National Police. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Min ...

police tactical unit

Groupe d'intervention de la Gendarmerie nationale The GIGN ( ; ) is the elite police tactical unit of the National Gendarmerie of France. Among its missions are counterterrorism, hostage rescue, surveillance of national threats, protection of government officials, critical site protection (s ...

(GIGN) and the French Army 2^e RPIMa.

Special Support Unit

The Special Support Unit (SSU), a branch of the MPF, is a police riot unit that was established in 1986. The SSU consists of five operational units and a training wing.

Police Band

The police band of the MPF is the official music unit of the service. It can operate as a

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the tit ...

, a

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

, a string orchestra as well as contemporary pop group. One of its alumni was Joseph Philippe Gentil, a

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

best known for composing '' The Motherland'', the

National Anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...

. On Independence Day (12 March) in 1968, a national newspaper mistakenly published the name and photograph of Philippe Oh San (the Police Band's maestro at the time) as the anthem's composer, with the remaining newspapers being reprinted with the correction.

Ranks

Small arms

References

External links

Mauritius Police Force websiteUniform Insignia Mauritius Police Force
{{Authority control Law enforcement in Mauritius