The Police Special Intervention Unit (SIU) (; ) is a national

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 ...

in the

Helsinki Police Department The Helsinki Police Department (HPD) (Finnish: Helsingin poliisilaitos) is the department of the Police of Finland in charge of the Finnish capital of Helsinki. Its responsibilities include enforcing the law and providing security for the city. Th ...

of the

Police of Finland The Police of Finland (, ) is a national government agency responsible for general police and law enforcement matters in the Republic of Finland. The Police of Finland is subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior and consists of the National P ...

. It is commonly known as the Bear Squad ()''.

Function

The Police Special Intervention Unit was formed as a national police tactical unit in the spring of 1972. It provided security for the

Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) was a key element of the détente process during the Cold War. Although it did not have the force of a treaty, it recognized the boundaries of postwar Europe and established a mechanism ...

, held in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

in 1975. According to Finnish law, all counter-terrorist operations are within the jurisdiction of the Police. In addition to operative units, the group includes

sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...

, technical support, police dog, and

bomb disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous Explosive device, explosive devices are rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functi ...

teams. It can be reinforced with a negotiation team during

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or ref ...

situations. The Karhu Unit operates under the authority of the Helsinki Police Department and, in turn, the National Police Board and the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

. Team members are selected from currently serving law enforcement personnel and undergo a training of one year, followed by a continuous on-the-job training programme. They alternate between normal field work, training and special operations duties: Training takes approximately half and special operations of their time while the rest consists of regular duties. The team had a strength of around 60 officers and 4 police dogs in 2011.

References

{{Portal bar, Finland Law enforcement agencies of Finland Non-military counterterrorist organizations ATLAS Network

Function

See also

References