Jordan Public Security Directorate, or PSD (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

: ) is a

public security Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensure ...

agency of the

Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; Romanization of Arabic, tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; Romanization of Arabic, tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levan ...

, which lies under the jurisdiction of the country's

Ministry of 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 ...

Background

Jordan's law enforcement is under the purview of the Public Security Directorate (which includes approximately 40,000 persons). The Jordanian 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 t ...

is subordinate to the Public Security Directorate of the

. The first police force in the Jordanian state, was organized after the fall of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

on 11 April 1921. Ali Khulqi Pasha Alsharairi was appointed as the first commander of the security force and as a National Security Counsellor (minister) in the first

Transjordan Transjordan may refer to: * Transjordan (region), an area to the east of the Jordan River * Oultrejordain, a Crusader lordship (1118–1187), also called Transjordan * Emirate of Transjordan, British protectorate (1921–1946) * Hashemite Kingdom of ...

government. The first security force was composed of the Gendarmerie Battalion, and the Gendarmerie regiment, the reservist regiment, the regulars, and the desert patrol force. Until 1956 police duties were carried out totally by the

Arab Legion The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of independent Jordan, with a final Arabization of its command taking place in 195 ...

and the

Transjordan Frontier Force The Trans-Jordan Frontier Force was formed on 1 April 1926, to replace the disbanded British Gendarmerie. It was a creation of the British High Commissioner for Palestine whose intention was that the Force should defend Trans-Jordan's northe ...

. After the 1956

Arabization of the Jordanian Army command The Arabization of the Jordanian Army command ( ar, تعريب قيادة الجيش العربي, ''Ta'reeb Qiyadat Al-Jaysh Al-Arabi'') saw the dismissal of senior British officers commanding the Arab Legion by King Hussein and the subsequent r ...

, the Public Security Directorate was established. Jordan's law enforcement ranked 24th in the world and 4th in the Middle East, in terms of police services' reliability, in the

Global Competitiveness Report The ''Global Competitiveness Report'' (GCR) is a yearly report published by the World Economic Forum. Since 2004, the ''Global Competitiveness Report'' ranks countries based on the Global Competitiveness Index, developed by Xavier Sala-i-Martin an ...

. Jordan also ranked 13th in the world and 3rd in the Middle East in terms of prevention of organized crime. The number of female police officers is on the rise in Jordan. In 1972, it was the first Arab state to introduce females to its police force. The number of police women grew from 6 in 1972 to over 3,500 in 2012. The PSD established a police training center in

Al-Muwaqqar Al-Muwaqqar ( ar, الموقر) is a district in the Amman Governorate of north-western Jordan. The village contains the scant ruins of an Umayyad palace, the Qasr al-Muwaqqar, one of the desert castles. Little remains of the palace today except s ...

which annually trains several thousands of police force members from neighboring Arab states, including; Palestine, Iraq and

GCC countries The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf ( ar, مجلس التعاون لدول العربية الخليج ), also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC; ar, مجلس التعاون الخليجي), is a regional, interg ...

. Another center established by Princess Basma specialized for training women, teaches the participants on details about the Jordanian penal code, the civil defence and public security laws and training on physical fitness, combat and defence skills. PSD headquarters are located in

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

where they have an centralized system serving all areas in Jordan, designed to maintain public safety through the integration of modern equipment. The current director is major general Fadel Al-Hmoud who was appointed on 25 February 2018.

Gallery

File:Jordanian Police automobile (Audi).JPG, Jordanian Audi A6 city center police car File:Female police officer in Amman.JPG, A female police officer in

References

{{Coord, 31.901309, 35.876274, type:landmark, display=title Law enforcement in Jordan