Groupes urbains de sécurité (GUS) (also known as "Croatia") () is a defunct Moroccan

special police Special police usually describes a law enforcement agency or unit within a such an agency whose duties and responsibilities are significantly different from other forces in the same nation, jurisdiction, or from other personnel within the same agen ...

unit which dealt with

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

matters using the "rapid intervention approach."

Background

GUS was established by the Direction Générale de la Sûreté Nationale (DGSN) (the main national

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

body) on October 17, 2005. The initiative lied within the scope of a general

reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

, whose principle was "the Police force, near to you for your safety". In October 2006, GUS comprised between 4,000 and 5,000 agents. The GUS were considered first-aid workers and all members spoke English. They were attached to

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, and certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissem ...

s. Because of its nature as an

auxiliary police Auxiliary police, also called volunteer police, reserve police, assistant police, civil guards, or special police, are usually the part-time reserves of a regular police force. They may be unpaid volunteers or paid members of the police servic ...

, GUS, for example did not have the right to confiscate

driver licence A driver's license, driving licence, or driving permit is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, car ...

s or to file official reports. Before its disbanding, GUS comprised 6 groups. They were equipped with

Peugeot Partner Peugeot (, , ) is a French automobile brand owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was established in 1810, making it the oldest car company in the world. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applie ...

vans and

Honda motorcycles commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer si ...

. Because of reforms within the national police and army bodies, the body was disbanded on October 16, 2006, exactly one year later. The members of the GUS were redeployed to other police departments such as

criminal investigation Criminal investigation is an applied science that involves the study of facts that are then used to inform criminal trials. A complete criminal investigation can include Search and seizure, searching, interviews, interrogations, Evidence (law), ...

departments and judiciary police.

Criticism and disbanding

While many Moroccans regarded the presence of GUS as a relief, many others considered it as a step back to the rule of the Makhzen.The Moroccan authoritative system during the rule of former King

Hassan II Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to: People *Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name *Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scotti ...

The disbanding came after many criticisms about excesses or abuses of power were noted. Some irresponsible actions of certain members of this police turned over the public opinion which became discreditory.

External links

''Détention arbitraire / Poursuites judiciaires / Mauvais traitements''
— FIDH.org
''Morocco disbands riot police unit''
— Richard Hamilton for

BBC Online BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and BBC Sport, Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, t ...

Notes and sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Groupes Urbains De Securite Law enforcement in Morocco fr:Police du Maroc#Groupes urbains de sécurité

Background

Criticism and disbanding

See also

External links

Notes and sources