The Royal Bhutan Police ( dz, རྒྱལ་གཞུང་འབྲུག་གི་འགག་སྡེ་; ) is the national police force of the
Kingdom of Bhutan. It is responsible for maintaining
law and order
In modern politics, law and order is the approach focusing on harsher enforcement and penalties as ways to reduce crime. Penalties for perpetrators of disorder may include longer terms of imprisonment, mandatory sentencing, three-strikes laws a ...
and prevention of crime in
Bhutan
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...
.
It was formed on 1 September 1965 with 555 personnel reassigned from the
Royal Bhutan Army
The Royal Bhutan Army (RBA; dz, བསྟན་སྲུང་དམག་སྡེ་, bStan-srung dmag-sde) is a branch of the armed forces of the Kingdom of Bhutan responsible for maintaining the country's territorial integrity and sovereign ...
. It was then called the "Bhutan Frontier Guards." Its independent statutory basis was first codified with the Royal Bhutan Police Act of 1980. This framework was repealed and replaced in its entirety by the Royal Bhutan Police Act of 2009.
Royal Bhutan Police
In addition to
law enforcement
Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules
Rule or ruling may refer to:
Education ...
, the mandate of the Royal Bhutan Police has grown since Act of 2009 to include managing prisons, facilitating youth development and rehabilitation, and disaster management.
[Police Act 2009: ¶¶ 124–125]
The Act of 2009 provides the Royal Bhutan Police a substantive and procedural framework for jurisdictions, powers arrest (with and without warrant), investigation, prosecution, search and seizure, summoning witnesses, and regulating public assembly and public nuisance.
[Police Act 2009: ¶¶ 68–78, 90–113] It also codifies a framework for receiving complaints from the public.
[Police Act 2009: ¶¶ 86–89]
The police are authorized to use force to "quell a disturbance of the peace, or to disperse an unlawful assembly, which either refused to disperse or shows a determination not to disperse," however the use of force must be limited as "as much as possible" using "the least deadly weapon which the circumstances permit."
[Police Act 2009: ¶¶ 79–80] Non-lethal measures required before lethal force may be used include water cannons, tear smoke, riot batons, and rubber pellets; shooting live ammunition into crowds is authorized only after firing warning shots into the air.
[Police Act 2009: ¶¶ 81–84]
The Act of 2009 includes a code of conduct, duties, special duties during elections and disasters, and prohibition against engaging in political activities.
[Police Act 2009: ¶¶ 39–44] It also regulates firearms for both police and civilians, requiring registration of private firearms with the police.
[Police Act 2009: ¶¶ 63–67]
Ranks and designations
![Traffic Police, Thimphu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Traffic_Police%2C_Thimphu.jpg)
The Act of 2009 establishes the following ranks and designations:
[Police Act 2009: ¶¶ 16, 211]
#''gagpoen'', the Chief of Police
#''Thrimdang Chichhab'', the Additional and Deputy Chiefs of Police
#''Thrimdag Gongma'', the Senior Superintendents of Police, Field and Special Divisions
#''Thrimdag Wogma'', the Superintendents of Police, Field and Special Divisions
#''Dungda'', the Additional Superintendents of Police, Field and Special Divisions
#''Yongzin'', Officer Commanding, Police Stations (commissioned officer)
#''Dechhab'', Officer Commanding, Police Stations (commissioned officer)
#''Gopoen Lopjongpa'', Officer Probationer
#''Jugpoen Gongma'', Officer In charge/In charge (junior commissioned or non-commissioned officer)
#''Jugpoen'', Officer In charge/In charge (junior commissioned or non-commissioned officer)
#''Jungpoen Wogma'', Officer In charge/In charge (junior commissioned or non-commissioned officer)
#''Juglop Gongma'', In charge (junior commissioned or non-commissioned officer)
#''Juglop'', In charge (junior commissioned or non-commissioned officer)
#''Quilop Gongma''
#''Quilop''
#''Denkul''
#''Gopa''
#''Gagpa'' (constables)
The Chief of Police and Additional and Deputy Chiefs of Police are appointed by the
Druk Gyalpo from among a list of names recommended by 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 i ...
, from among the list submitted by the Police Service board based on seniority, qualification, and capability.
[Police Act 2009: ¶ 18] Any other appointments above, as well as directors of Training Institutes, are appointed by the Chief of Police on recommendation of the Police Service Board.
[Police Act 2009: ¶¶ 3–9]
The Chief of Police is empowered with wide discretion in the command of the Royal Bhutan Police, including budgetary matters; policy decisions; promotions, awards, and punishments on the advice of the Service Board; issuing orders on anything relating to Police activities; and delegating his powers as he may think expedient.
[Police Act 2009: ¶¶ 21–23, 180–189, 195–196] He reports to the
Minister for Home and Cultural Affairs.
Officers Commanding and Officers In charge of police stations submit daily and other regular reports to Superintendents of Police, who in turn submit similar reports to Police Headquarters in
Thimphu
Thimphu (; dz, ཐིམ་ཕུག ) is the capital and largest city of Bhutan. It is situated in the western central part of Bhutan, and the surrounding valley is one of Bhutan's ''dzongkhags'', the Thimphu District. The ancient capital city ...
.
[Police Act 2009: ¶ 45] At both levels, authorities keep extensive registers and diaries of convictions, cases, seizures, arrests, absconders, custody, and town and village information.
[Police Act 2009: ¶¶ 49–58] Officers Commanding and Officers In charge must also provide similar reports to authorities on the
Dzongkhag and
Dungkhag
A dungkhag ( dz, དྲུང་ཁག་ ''drungkhak'') is a sub-district of a dzongkhag (district) of Bhutan. The head of a dungkhag is a ''Dungpa''. As of 2007, nine of the twenty dzongkhags had from one to three dungkhags, with sixteen dungkh ...
levels.
[Police Act 2009: ¶ 59]
Bureaus
The Investigation Bureau operates directly under the Chief of Police to collect intelligence and information relating to criminal and subversive activities against the ''Tsa-Wa-Sum'' and is headed by the Deputy Chief (IB)
[Police Act 2009: ¶ 116]
The National Central Bureau located at the Police Headquarters liaises with other Interpol member countries and Sub-Regional Bureaus. It assists the Investigation Bureau.
[Police Act 2009: ¶ 117]
Field and special divisions
Field divisions are the various police divisions in the
Dzongkhags.
[Police Act 2009: ¶ 211] The Special Police Divisions under the Additional Chief of Police are at par with the Field Divisions and are headed by Superintendents of Police or by Directors. The Special Divisions established by the Act of 2009 are:
[Police Act 2009: ¶¶ 118–129]
*Planning and Human Resource Development Division
*Traffic Division
*Fire Services Division
*Security Division – for VIPs, foreign dignitaries, and vital installations
*Prison Services Division
*Youth Development and Rehabilitation Centre (YDRC)
*Information Communication Technology Division (ICTD)
*Special Reserve Police Force (SRPF) – for counter-terrorism, support, and miscellaneous duties
*Narcotic Drugs and other Vices Division
*Women and Child Protection Division
*Police Training Institutes
The Chief of Police may, in his discretion, recommend to the
Royal Government for the ration and abolition of divisions, police stations, check-posts, out-posts, and other units.
[Police Act 2009: ¶ 17]
In 2020 Lieutenant Colonel
Karma Rigzin, founder of the Women and Child Protection Division, was named by the US State Department as one of their "heroes" for her work to stop trafficking of women and children.
Prisons in Bhutan
Under the Royal Bhutan Police Act of 2009 and the Prison Act of 2009, the Prison Services Division is responsible for maintaining and administering the prisons of Bhutan. There are 21 prisons in the country: one in each
dzongkhag for those punished for up to third degree
felonies
A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
, plus Central Prison (Tshoenkhang Yoema) for those who commit first or second degree felonies. There are also Youth Development and Rehabilitation Centres for juvenile (under age 18) convicts. The Division personnel consist of a senior superintendent, superintendent, and additional superintendent; officers in charge of the central (national) and
dzongkhag prisons; prison wardens and guards; and medical officers. Personnel begin as police, undergo training in prison administration at government-run Training Institutes, and occupy their posts for two year terms. Under the Prison Act, the police chief, in consultation with the
Minister of Home Affairs
An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
, may declare "any house, building, enclosure or place, or any part thereof" to be a prison or reformative training centre.
Prisoners themselves are categorized as "civil prisoners," criminal prisoners, prisoners charged under the
National Security Act, and military personnel convicted in military court. Detainees are classed as those under criminal investigation, detainees under trial, and other detainees "as directed by court for civil cases." Populations of civil, criminal, and political prisoners are to be separated from each other while inside. Prisoners may wear their own clothing, subject to a dress code, and may even raise children on prison grounds through age nine. Prisoners are allowed spousal conjugal visits, provided female prisoners agree to prevent conception. These benefits are balanced by six-day weeks of hard labour within the prisons, imposed on all but juveniles, the physically and mentally infirm, political prisoners, and prisoners with pending trials.
[
]
Royal Bhutan Police Service Board
Under the Act of 2009, the Royal Bhutan Police Service Board formulates policies, rules, regulations, and guidelines for the police concerning organization; administration; staffing; promotion, classification, and grading of services; higher or continuing policing education; performance evaluation and appraisal; development of efficient police process; Police Support Selection Examinations; Police Support Cadre Selection Procedures; and police office and material management.[Police Act 2009: ¶ 30] All policies, Service Rules, and regulations formulated and decided by the Board are submitted to the Chief of Police for endorsement and for submission to the Home and Cultural Affairs Minister for approval.[Police Act 2009: ¶ 38]
The Royal Bhutan Police Service Board consists of eleven members appointed by the Minister for Home and Cultural Affairs upon recommendation of the Chief of Police. Its members include Additional Chief of Police (Chair); the Head of the Law and Order Bureau within the Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs
The Bhutanese Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs ( Dzongkha: ནང་སྲིད་དང་སྲོལ་འཛིན་ལྷན་ཁག་; Wylie: ''nang-srid(-dang srol-'dzin) lhan-khag''; "Nangsi Lhenkhag") is the government ministry ...
; one Deputy Chief of Police (Member Secretary); one Senior Superintendent of Police; one director of the Police Training Institutes; two Superintendents of Police from Field Divisions; two Superintendents of Police from the Special Division; one Additional Superintendent of Police from the Field Division; and one Officer Commanding of the Police Station not below the rank of ''Yongzin''. The first two are permanent members; all others serve two-year terms with a limit of two consecutive terms.[Police Act 2009: ¶¶ 27–29]
History of the Royal Bhutan Police
The Royal Bhutan Police was formed on 1 September 1965 with 555 personnel reassigned from the Royal Bhutan Army
The Royal Bhutan Army (RBA; dz, བསྟན་སྲུང་དམག་སྡེ་, bStan-srung dmag-sde) is a branch of the armed forces of the Kingdom of Bhutan responsible for maintaining the country's territorial integrity and sovereign ...
,[ and had grown to over 1,000 by the late 1970s. Since its establishment, Indian police advisers and instructors have been used. Starting in 1975, Bhutanese instructors, trained in India for one year, began training recruits at the Zilnon Namgyeling Police Training Centre. Advanced training for selected police officers in fields such as criminology, traffic control, and canine corps has taken place in India and other countries. In 1988, following specialized training in India, a female second lieutenant established a fingerprint bureau in Thimphu. Besides having access to training at the Indian Police Academy in Hyderabad, some students were also sent to the Police Executive Development Course in Singapore.][
Besides performing their standard police functions, members of the Royal Bhutan Police also served as border guards and firefighters and provided first aid. In 1975, in response to the increased number of traffic accidents resulting from the development of roads and the increase number of motor vehicles, the police established an experimental mobile traffic court staff with Royal Bhutan Police personnel and a judicial official to make on-the-spot legal decisions.][
On September 19, 2005 ]Bhutan
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...
became a member of Interpol
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
. Interpol maintains a National Central Bureau at Royal Bhutan Police headquarters in Thimphu
Thimphu (; dz, ཐིམ་ཕུག ) is the capital and largest city of Bhutan. It is situated in the western central part of Bhutan, and the surrounding valley is one of Bhutan's ''dzongkhags'', the Thimphu District. The ancient capital city ...
.
As of 2005, recruits were trained at the Police Training Centers in Zilnon Namgyeling - Thimphu
Thimphu (; dz, ཐིམ་ཕུག ) is the capital and largest city of Bhutan. It is situated in the western central part of Bhutan, and the surrounding valley is one of Bhutan's ''dzongkhags'', the Thimphu District. The ancient capital city ...
, Jigmeling - Gelephu
Gelephu ( dz, དགེ་ལེགས་ཕུ་; Wylie: ''dge-legs-phu''), also spelled as Gelyephug, Gelegphu, Gaylegphug or Gaylephug, is a town or Thromde in Sarpang District in Bhutan. It is located on the Indian border, about 30 ...
and Tashigatshel - Chukha. A nine-month basic training course for constables
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
included physical exercise and drills, weapons training, martial arts (taekwondo
''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...
), law, public relations, riot control, investigation techniques, check post duties, traffic control, 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 ...
escort and ''driglam namzha
The Driglam Namzha () is the official code of etiquette and dress code of Bhutan. It governs how citizens should dress in public as well as how they should behave in formal settings. It also regulates a number of cultural assets such as art and arc ...
''. An additional six-week course provided scientific investigation techniques, photography, administration, accounting, canine handling and other related subjects. A six-week refresher course was also conducted.[
Selected officers were sent for basic and advanced training abroad. In India, Royal Bhutan Police officers were trained at the ]Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA) is the civil service training institution in India. The institute trains Indian Police Service (IPS) officers before they are sent to their respective state cadres to carry out their dut ...
in Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...
and the Punjab Police Academy. Officers were sent to Australia to specialise in DNA analysis and other advanced techniques of forensic science. Officers have also attended a Police Executive Development course in Singapore.[
]
The Organization of Royal Bhutan Police
*Organisation & Structure - http://www.rbp.gov.bt/organo.php
*Divisions - http://www.rbp.gov.bt/contact.php
Royal Bhutan Police Act 2009
*http://www.rbp.gov.bt/Forms/Police%20Act.pdf
Organisation and structure under the Act of 1980
In 1991, the Royal Bhutan Police was organizationally subordinate to the Royal Bhutan Army and under the command of Major General Lam Dorji, who was also chief of operations of the army, holding the title inspector general or commandant. There were police headquarters in each district and subdistrict.[ In 1991, the police was headed by the ]Chief of Police
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the b ...
under whom there are commissioned officers, non-commissioned officers, and constables.[ In April 2008, the Chief of Police was ''Maksi Gom'' (Colonel) Kipchu Namgyel.]
The headquarters of the Royal Bhutan Police in Thimphu
Thimphu (; dz, ཐིམ་ཕུག ) is the capital and largest city of Bhutan. It is situated in the western central part of Bhutan, and the surrounding valley is one of Bhutan's ''dzongkhags'', the Thimphu District. The ancient capital city ...
was divided into three branches directly under the Chief of Police
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the b ...
:
General Division
* General welfare of the Royal Bhutan Police
* Prison administration
Crime Division
* Crime prevention and detection
* Investigation of criminal cases
* Maintenance of crime records
* Research work
* Traffic control
Administrative Division
* Training
* VIP security
* Motor transport
* Communications systems
* Arms and ammunition
* Publications
* Sports activities
The Royal Bhutan Police structures districts into "ranges" which are under the administrative control of "range police officers." A "district police officer" heads the police force in a district. There are a number of police stations, outposts, and checkpoints in a district and the highest-ranked officer is usually designated the Officer-in-Charge of that particular area.[
Range I
* ]Thimphu
Thimphu (; dz, ཐིམ་ཕུག ) is the capital and largest city of Bhutan. It is situated in the western central part of Bhutan, and the surrounding valley is one of Bhutan's ''dzongkhags'', the Thimphu District. The ancient capital city ...
* Phuentsholing
* Wangdiphodrang
Range II
* Gelephu
Gelephu ( dz, དགེ་ལེགས་ཕུ་; Wylie: ''dge-legs-phu''), also spelled as Gelyephug, Gelegphu, Gaylegphug or Gaylephug, is a town or Thromde in Sarpang District in Bhutan. It is located on the Indian border, about 30 ...
* Tsirang
Tsirang District (Dzongkha: རྩི་རང་རྫོང་ཁག་; Wylie: ''Rtsi-rang rdzong-khag''; previously (Chirang), is one of the 20 dzongkhags (districts) of Bhutan. The administrative center of the district is Damphu.
Tsirang ...
* Tongsa
Trongsa, previously Tongsa (, ), is a Thromde or town, and the capital of Trongsa District in central Bhutan. The name means "new village" in Dzongkha. The first temple was built in 1543 by the Drukpa lama Ngagi Wangchuck, who was the great-gran ...
Range III
* Samdrup Jongkhar
Samdrup Jongkhar (Dzongkha:བསམ་གྲུབ་ལྗོངས་མཁར་) is a town and seat of Samdrup Jongkhar District in Bhutan.
The town is located at the south-eastern part of Bhutan and borders the Indian state of Assam. Though ...
* Mongar
Mongar (Dzongkha: མོང་སྒར) is a town and the seat of Mongar District in eastern Bhutan. it had a population of 3502. Mongar is on the road from Thimphu to Trashigang. It is one of the oldest educational hubs of the country. It ha ...
* Trashigang
Trashigang ( dz, བཀྲ་ཤིས་སྒང་།), or Tashigang, meaning "fortress of auspicious mount," is a town in eastern Bhutan and the district capital of the Trashigang Dzongkhag (district).
The town lies to the east side of the ...
See also
*Law enforcement in Bhutan Law enforcement in Bhutan is the collective purview of several divisions of Bhutan's Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs. Namely, the Ministry's Bureau of Law and Order, Department of Immigration, and Department of Local Governance are responsible ...
*Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs
The Bhutanese Ministry of Home and Cultural Affairs ( Dzongkha: ནང་སྲིད་དང་སྲོལ་འཛིན་ལྷན་ཁག་; Wylie: ''nang-srid(-dang srol-'dzin) lhan-khag''; "Nangsi Lhenkhag") is the government ministry ...
* Crime in Bhutan
*Bhutanese legislation
Bhutanese legislation is created by the bicameral Parliament of Bhutan. Either the upper house National Council, the lower house National Assembly, or the Attorney General may author bills to be passed as acts, with the exception of money and fin ...
*Law of Bhutan
The law of Bhutan derives mainly from Bhutanese legislation, legislation and foreign relations of Bhutan, treaties. Prior to the enactment of the Constitution, laws were enacted by fiat of the Druk Gyalpo, King of Bhutan. The law of Bhutan originat ...
* Nature of duty
* Lieutenant Colonel Karma Rigzin
Notes
References
{{commons category, Royal Bhutan Police
Government of Bhutan
1965 establishments in Bhutan
Gendarmerie
National Central Bureaus of Interpol
Law enforcement in Bhutan