The Republic of Vietnam National Police – RVNP ( vi, Cảnh sát Quốc gia Việt Nam Cộng hòa, links=no), Police Nationale de la République du Vietnam or Police Nationale for short ( vi, Cảnh sát Quốc gia, links=no – CSQG) in French, was the official South Vietnamese national police force from 1962 to 1975, operating closely with the

Army of the Republic of Vietnam The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN; ; french: Armée de la république du Viêt Nam) composed the ground forces of the Republic of Vietnam Military Forces, South Vietnamese military from its inception in 1955 to the Fall of Saigon in April ...

(ARVN) during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. __TOC__

History

The Republic of Vietnam National Police was officially created by President Ngô Đình Diệm's national decree in June 1962, integrating all the existing internal security and paramilitary agencies raised by the

French Union The French Union () was a political entity created by the French Fourth Republic to replace the old French colonial empire system, colloquially known as the " French Empire" (). It was the formal end of the "indigenous" () status of French subje ...

authorities during the

First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...

between 1946 and 1954, into a single National Police Force who answered to the Directorate General of National Police (

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

: ''Tổng cục cảnh sát quốc gia'' – TCCSQG). These included the Vietnamese ''Sûreté'', the Saigon Municipal Police, elements of the colonial National Guard of South Vietnam (french: Garde Nationale du Viet Nam Sud, links=no – GNVS, or VBNV in

), a rural

Gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

force or 'Civil Guard' (french: Garde Civile, links=no), the combat police (french: Police de Combat, link=no) and various provincial militia forces made of irregular auxiliaries (french: Supplétifs, links=no). Transferred to South Vietnamese control in 1955, all the aforementioned security units were integrated in the early 1960s into a new national police force with the exception of the Civil Guard, which was placed under the Ministry of Defence. The CSQG had an initial strength of only 16,000 uniformed and plainclothes agents, being essentially an urban constabulary with no rural Gendarmerie component to counter the threat posed by the increasing

Viet Cong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

(VC) insurgency in the countryside.

The National Police under Diệm

Even before the official creation of the National Police, President Diệm was quick to employ the security forces inherited from the French in repressing both internal political dissent and organized crime. Throughout the late 1950s and into 1960, they helped the

Vietnamese National Army The Vietnamese National Army or Vietnam National Army ( vi, Quân đội Quốc gia Việt Nam, lit=Army of the State of Vietnam, french: Armée Nationale Vietnamienne, lit=Vietnamese National Army) was the State of Vietnam's military force create ...

(VNA) in suppressing the

Hòa Hảo Hòa Hảo is a religious movement described either as a syncretistic folk religion or as a sect of Buddhism. It was founded in 1939 by Huỳnh Phú Sổ (1920–1947), who is regarded as a saint by its devotees. It is one of the major religio ...

and

Cao Đài Caodaism ( vi, Đạo Cao Đài, Chữ Hán: ) is a monotheistic syncretic new religious movement officially established in the city of Tây Ninh in southern Vietnam in 1926. The full name of the religion is (The Great Faith or theThird Un ...

militant religious and political sects, with approximately 25,000 armed militiamen, and the smaller but better organized Bình Xuyên

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

-based gangster group.

The final years 1971-75

The CSQG strength peaked in

February 1971 The following events occurred in February 1971: s February 1, 1971 (Monday) *The Soviet Union opened the first school in a Communist nation for business administration and for management science, long rejected as a feature of Western capitalis ...

at 103,859 personnel – including 3,144 female agents, mostly engaged in clerical work –, 4,450 vehicles and some 830 motorcycles of various types. However, out of this total only 27,565 officers and enlisted men were of career status, the remainder being on contract, daily paid or floating assimilated. Plans were drawn late that year to further expand the Police to 124,050 and later to 160,000, though the actual authorized strength in 1973 stood at about 130,000 men and women.

Structure

The CSQG was organized at national level with logistical and administrative support from Saigon, but individual police departments were under the operational control of the provincial police chiefs. All components of the Police system were administered directly by the Directorate General of National Police (TCCSQG) at the National Police Headquarters in

, which also provided technical or combat support for law-enforcement and other internal security duties throughout the Country. The Directorate General was headed by Sub-

Brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Nguyễn Ngọc Loan Major General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan (; 11 December 193014 July 1998) was a South Vietnamese general and chief of the South Vietnamese National Police. Loan gained international attention when he summarily executed handcuffed prisoner Nguyễn ...

, who led a staff comprising a deputy director and six assistant directors for administration, personnel and training, intelligence, operations, Field Forces and scientific police. By the late 1960s, the Vietnamese National Police was organized into nine major specialized departments or 'branches', which were: * River and Coastal Police *

Traffic Control Police A highway patrol, or state patrol is either a police unit created primarily for the purpose of overseeing and enforcing traffic safety compliance on roads and highways, or a detail within an existing local or regional police agency that is prima ...

Judiciary Police The judicial police, judiciary police, or justice police are (depending on both country and legal system) either a branch, separate police agency or type of duty performed by law enforcement structures in a country. The term judiciary police is mo ...

Special Police Special police usually describes a police, 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 ...

* Scientific Police * Police Medical Service * Administration Service * VIP Protection Service * Field Police

Training facilities

All instruction and management of training facilities fell upon the Personnel and Training Directorate (

: ''Ban nhân sự và đào tạo'') at National Police headquarters in

. Recruits first underwent the basic 12-week course, which consisted primarily of weapons handling, tactics,

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...

and drill, ministered at the main CSQG Training Centre (

: ''Trung tâm đào tạo CSQG'') located at

Rach Dua Rach may refer to: * Random Access Channel (RACH), a feature of mobiles or other wireless devices * Rach, Iran, a village in South Khorasan Province, Iran * Sergei Rachmaninoff, the composer. "Rach" () is a colloquial short form of his surname, ...

, near

Vũng Tàu Vũng Tàu (''Hanoi accent:'' , ''Saigon accent:'' ) is the largest city of Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province in southern Vietnam. The city area is , consists of 13 urban wards and one commune of Long Sơn Islet. Vũng Tàu was the capital of the pr ...

. After finishing the course, the best-qualified students were selected to be sent for officer training to the National Police Academy (

: ''Học viện cảnh sát quốc gia'') at Hoc Viên, where they attended advanced instruction programs at all levels, which comprised: * Officer promotion courses up to and including the rank of

Lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

; * Administrative and staff training; * Senior officer seminars; * Judicial Police training for officers and NCOs; * Instructors' courses at both officer and lower rank levels. Those recruits with lower qualifications went instead to the Non-commissioned Officer (NCO) School run by the ARVN at its Combat Training Centre (

: ''Trung tâm huấn luyện chiến đấu'') in

Da Lat Da Lat (also written as Dalat, vi, Đà Lạt; ), is the capital of Lâm Đồng Province and the largest city of the Central Highlands region in Vietnam. The city is located above sea level on the Langbian Plateau. Da Lat is one of the mos ...

, co-located to the namesake South Vietnamese Armed Forces Military Academy, where they received special training that would enable them to graduate as Police NCOs. Specialists such as field policemen, patrol boat crewmen, vehicle drivers (this category included

squad car A police car (also called a police cruiser, police interceptor, patrol car, area car, cop car, prowl car, squad car, radio car, or radio motor patrol) is a ground vehicle used by police and law enforcement for transportation during patrols a ...

, armoured car and

Jeep Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Moto ...

drivers, and

motorcyclist Motorcycling is the act of riding a motorcycle. For some people, motorcycling may be the only affordable form of individual motorized transportation, and small- displacement motorcycles are the most common motor vehicle in the most populous c ...

s), radio operators, medics, mechanics, and clerks were trained in various other National Police and Armed Forces' schools. More specialized training was also provided to selected male and female personnel assigned to the other CSQG branches. River and Coastal Police boat crews were trained at the Marine Police Training Centre (

: ''Trung tâm huấn luyện cảnh sát biển'') co-located at their

Phú Xuân Phú Xuân (富春) was the historic capital of the Nguyễn lords, the Tây Sơn dynasty, and later became the Nguyễn dynasty's capital (renamed Huế). History In 1306, the King of Champa Chế Mân offered Vietnam two Chăm prefectures, Ô a ...

HQ, near

Huế Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...

. Field Police personnel – including officers and NCOs – underwent eight weeks' of training in paramilitary skills at the Mã Lai Á and Phi Luât Tân CSQG training Centres. Instruction covered subjects such as

jungle warfare Jungle warfare is a term used to cover the special techniques needed for military units to survive and fight in jungle terrain. It has been the topic of extensive study by military strategists, and was an important part of the planning for bo ...

intelligence-gathering This is a list of intelligence gathering disciplines. HUMINT Human intelligence (HUMINT) are gathered from a person in the location in question. Sources can include the following: * Advisors or foreign internal defense (FID) personnel wor ...

operations,

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 and norms governing that society. The term en ...

and

riot control Riot control measures are used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful demonstration or unlawful protest. If a riot is spontaneous and irration ...

techniques. To upgrade their capabilities, squads and platoons were returned periodically to these training centers for six weeks of unit refresher training, but for most CSDC companies and battalions posted in the provinces their refresher course actually took place at the regional training centers.

Foreign assistance

Additional military "on the job" training was provided to Field Police units in the field by U.S. Mobile Training Teams or by Australian advisors from the

Australian Army Training Team Vietnam The Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV) was a specialist unit of military advisors of the Australian Army that operated during the Vietnam War. Raised in 1962, the unit was formed solely for service as part of Australia's contribution ...

(AATTV). Selected officer students attended specialized courses at the

International Police Academy The Office of Public Safety (OPS) was a U.S. government program within the United States Agency for International Development, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) that provided training, assistance and equipment to the securi ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

while other students were sent to the

Royal Malaysian Police The Royal Malaysia Police (often abbreviated RMP) ( ms, Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM)), is a (primarily) uniformed national and federal police force in Malaysia. The force is a centralised organisation. Its headquarters are located at Bukit Aman ...

Field Force Special Training Centre ( ms, Sekolah Latihan Pasukan Polis Hutan; SLPPH) at Kentonmen, Ulu Kinta,

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

to attend advanced specialized police and instructor's courses; after graduation, some of these new National Police officers upon returning to

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

would them be posted as Field Police instructors at the Police training centres to pass on their skills to CSDC recruits.

List of National Police Director-Generals

* Lại Văn Sang *

Mai Hữu Xuân Major General Mai Hữu Xuân was a general of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and a participant in the November 1963 coup that deposed President Ngô Đình Diệm and ended in his assassination. Xuân started his career in the Vi ...

* Nguyễn Ngọc Lễ * Nguyễn Văn Tôn * Trần Vĩnh Ðắt * Trần Bá Thành * Nguyễn Chữ * Nguyễn Văn Hay * Trần Văn Tư * Nguyễn Văn Là *

* Phạm Xuân Chiểu * Ðàm Trung Mộc * Nguyễn Văn Y

List of National Police Commanders

* Trần Thanh Phong * Nguyễn Khắc Bình

Uniforms and insignia

The

agents were given an all-white cotton service uniform consisting of a long-sleeved shirt and trousers, worn with a matching white peaked cap; the shirt had dark blue removable shoulder boards and badges and other insignia were in silvered metal. Field Police troopers were given a black beret, worn French-style pulled to the left with the National Police cap badge placed above the right eye. A US M-1 Helmet liner painted in shiny black, marked with white-and-red stripes at the sides and the initials "TC" (

: ''Tuấn Chân'' – patrol) was worn by National Police constables assigned patrol duties or riot control in urban areas.Rottman and Bujeiro, ''Army of the Republic of Vietnam 1955–75'' (2010), p. 47, Plate H3.

Rank insignia

1955–1962 ranks

*''Cảnh sát viên'' –

Patrolman A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as law enforcement officers, military personnel, or security personnel, that are assigned to monitor or secure a specific geographic area. Etymology From French ''patrouiller'', from Old Fren ...

/Patrolwoman *''Thẩm sát viên'' –

Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

*''Biên tập viên'' –

Redactor Redaction is a form of editing in which multiple sources of texts are combined and altered slightly to make a single document. Often this is a method of collecting a series of writings on a similar theme and creating a definitive and coherent wo ...

*''Quận trưởng'' –

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

*''Kiểm tra'' –

Controller Controller may refer to: Occupations * Controller or financial controller, or in government accounting comptroller, a senior accounting position * Controller, someone who performs agent handling in espionage * Air traffic controller, a person ...

*''Tổng kiểm tra'' – Controller General

1962–1971 ranks

*''Cảnh sát viên'' –

/Patrolwoman *''Phó thẩm sát viên công nhựt'' – Acting

Sub-inspector Sub-inspector (SI), or sub-inspector of police, is a rank used extensively in South Asia: in the police forces of Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka, which is primarily based on the British model. It was formerly used in most British col ...

*''Phó thẩm sát viên'' –

*''Phó thẩm sát viên thượng hạng'' –

1st class *''Thẩm sát viên công nhựt'' –

Station inspector Station inspector is a police rank used in some countries. Singapore Singapore Police Force Station inspector is the third highest non-commissioned rank in the Singapore Police Force, below inspector, and above senior staff sergeant. Station ...

*''Thẩm sát viên'' –

*''Thẩm sát viên thượng hạng'' –

Chief inspector Chief inspector (Ch Insp) is a rank used in police forces which follow the British model. In countries outside Britain, it is sometimes referred to as chief inspector of police (CIP). Usage by country Australia The rank of chief inspector is use ...

*''Biên tập viên công nhựt'' –

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

*''Biên tập viên'' –

Chief superintendent Chief superintendent is a senior rank in police forces, especially in those organised on the United Kingdom, British model. Rank insignia of chief superintendent File:Sa-police-chief-superintendent.png, South Australia Police File:RCMP Chief Su ...

*''Biên tập viên thượng hạng'' – Deputy commissioner *''Quận trưởng'' –

*''Quận trưởng thượng hạng'' – Commissioner 1st class *''Kiểm tra'' –

Director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

*''Tổng kiểm tra'' –

Director General of Police Director general of police (DGP) is a rank in the Indian Police Service, held by the highest ranking police officer in a State or a Union Territory of India, typically heading the state or the UT police force. The DGP is appointed by the cabin ...

1971–1975 ranks

*''Cảnh sát viên'' –

/Patrolwoman *''Trung sĩ nhất'' – Sergeant first class *''Thượng sĩ'' – Master sergeant *''Thượng sĩ nhất'' – First sergeant *''Thiếu úy'' –

Second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

*''Trung úy'' –

First lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

*''Đại úy'' –

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

*''Thiếu tá'' –

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

*''Trung tá'' –

*''Đại tá'' –

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

*''Chuẩn tướng'' –

*''Thiếu tướng'' –

Major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

*''Trung tướng'' –

Lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

/Deputy Director-General *''Đại tướng'' –

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

/Director-General

Endnotes

References

* Gordon L. Rottman and Ramiro Bujeiro, ''Army of the Republic of Vietnam 1955–75'', Men-at-arms series 458, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2010. * James Arnold, ''Tet Offensive 1968 – Turning point in Vietnam'', Campaign series 4, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1990. * Kevin Lyles, ''Vietnam ANZACs – Australian & New Zealand Troops in Vietnam 1962–72'', Elite series 103, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2004. * Lee E. Russell and Mike Chappell, ''Armies of the Vietnam War 2'', Men-at-arms series 143, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1983. . * Nigel de Lee, ''Chapter 2 – Southeast Asia: the impact of Mao Tse-tung'' (pp. 48–61) in John Pimlott (ed.), ''Guerrilla Warfare'', Bison Books Ltd., London 1985. * Phillip Katcher and Mike Chappell, ''Armies of the Vietnam War 1962–1975'', Men-at-arms series 104, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1980. * Sir Robert Thompson ''et al.'', ''Report on the Republic of Vietnam National Police'', 1971. vailable online at http://www.counterinsurgency.org/1971%20Thompson%20Police/Thompson%20Police.htm* Thanh Kim Pham, ''Lịch sử ngành Cảnh sát Quốc gia VNCH''. (in

) * Valéry Tarrius, ''La Police de Campagne du Sud-Vietnam 1967–1975'', in Armes Militaria magazine, March 2005 issue, Histoire & Collections, Paris, pp. 37–43. (in French)

External links

Federation of South Vietnam Police Associations (in Vietnamese)

* http://www.militaria-mag.com * http://camopedia.org/index.php?title=Republic_of_Vietnam * http://www.polinsignia.com/vietnam.htm {{Authority control National Central Bureaus of Interpol Defunct law enforcement agencies of South Vietnam 1975 disestablishments in Vietnam

History

The National Police under Diệm

The final years 1971-75

Structure

Training facilities

Foreign assistance

List of National Police Director-Generals

List of National Police Commanders

Uniforms and insignia

Rank insignia

1955–1962 ranks

1962–1971 ranks

1971–1975 ranks

See also

Endnotes

References

Further reading

External links