| Agencyname: | Police of North Macedonia |
| Nativename: | Полиција (Macedonian) |
| Patch: | North Macedonian police patch.png |
| Formedyear: | 1992 |
| Country: | North Macedonia |
| National: | Yes |
| Governingbody: | Government of North Macedonia |
| Governingbodyscnd: | Ministry of Internal Affairs |
| Police: | Yes |
| Local: | No |
| Headquarters: | Skopje |
| Electeetype: | Minister |
| Minister1name: | Pancho Toshkovski |
| Minister1pfo: | Ministry of Internal Affairs |
| Chief1name: | Magdalena Nestorovska |
| Chief1position: | State Secretary of the MIA |
| Parentagency: | Government of North Macedonia |
| Child1agency: | UBK |
| Stations: | Skopje, Kumanovo, Shtip, Strumica, Bitola, Ohrid, and Tetovo |
| Vehicle1type: | Light vehicle |
| Vehicles1: | Chevrolet Spark 100[1] |
| Vehicle2type: | Scoter |
| Vehicles2: | Sym HD2 200i, Piaggio Beverly 125[2] |
| Boat1type: | Lake patrol boat |
| Aircraft1type: | Helicopter |
| Aircraft1: | agusta AB206B-2 (1), agusta ab212 (1), bell 412ep (1), mil Mi-171 (1), mil Mi-17V-5 (1) |
| Animal1type: | Dog |
| Animals1: | German Shepherd |
| Activitytype: | none |
| Anniversary1: | May 7th |
| Award1: |  Constantinus 2013 Silver Medal[3] |
| Website: | www.mvr.gov.mk |
Law enforcement in North Macedonia is the responsibility of the Police of the Republic of North Macedonia .[4]
The police headquarters are located in Skopje at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and also maintain an air base in nearby Idrizovo. Taiwan, Canada, and Italy have all contributed Bell Helicopter Textron helicopters to the police force's Macedonian Police Aviation Unit in cooperation with the Air Force of North Macedonia to help combat insurgencies the country.[5]
The law enforcement agencies of North Macedonia are regulated by the Constitution of 1991, the Law on Internal Affairs of 1995, the Criminal Procedure Code of 1997 and the Draft Law on Changes and Additions to the Criminal Procedure Code.[6] With police actions and behavior controlled by the Criminal Procedure Code, and the Law on Internal Affairs controlling the use of firearms by the police force. On July 1, 2003, the Law on the Police Academy was enacted, creating a police academy to train civil and border police officers.[7]
The force has been the subject of a number of recent reforms regarding both the Albanian insurgency,[8] and possible violations of human rights,[9] [10] with NATO officials stating that the force was "not really up to European standards" as policemen lacked in skills and weapons.[11] [12]
The Police were subject to scrutiny during Albanian riots on 9 July 1997 when protesters collected in the western town of Gostivar. Over 200 were wounded and three killed (two shot, one beaten to death)[12] in a resulting clash with police riot squads, and the Humans Rights Watch investigated allegations of police brutality.[12] These events underlined a continuing friction between the Macedonian Police force and Albanians living in North Macedonia.[12] The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights reported that police abuse of suspects, particularly during initial arrest and detention, and police harassment of ethnic minorities is ongoing.[13]
The Police of North Macedonia work closely with the NATO peacekeepers in patrolling areas with high numbers of ethnic Albanians ever since the 2001 Macedonia conflict ended, and have been receiving weapons from surrendering Albanian insurgents.[8] Violent attacks, however, still occur as in 2001 three officers were killed by Albanian gunmen.[14]
A Notable Incident was when the Macedonian Police arrested a Horse in 2009 used by a crime smuggling ring to smuggle Air conditioners from Serbia. At that time the Police were not sure whether to press charges or not, but ultimately decided to not press charges against the Horse.[15]
On the 2nd of December, 2022, during a routine traffic stop, а driver was asked to show his documents, to which the driver didn't comply and proceeded to call an Armed group. Said group proceeded to chase the Police officers out of Aračinovo and into the Gazi Baba police station.[16] [17] [18]
| Vehicle | Photo | Origin | Users | Use | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light Vehicles | ||||||
| Regular and Traffic Police | Patrolling and Transport | [19] | ||||
| Forest and Border Police | Patrolling and Transport | Due to a lack of Vehicles, the Police of North Macedonia has begun using Border Police vehicles as regular Police vehicles. | ||||
| Regular, Special and Border Police | Patrolling, Transport and Surveillance | The Border Police uses a modified Land Rover fitted with Cameras designed to monitor certain areas to prevent illegal crossings etc. | ||||
| Regular and Traffic Police | Patrolling and Transport | |||||
| Traffic Police[20] | Patrolling and Transport | Ten in Service. | ||||
| Regular and Traffic Police | Patrolling and Transport | The vehicle is used by all police offices, stations, departments in North Macedonia and is its most recognizable vehicle. There is another version of the vehicle that is used as a lead vehicle in traffic and escort security (CEO) of VIPs, officials etc. The only difference in appearance are the police lights which appear in blue and red instead of the usual blue.[21] | ||||
| Regular and Traffic Police | Patrolling and Transport | Limited Use by certain departments [22] | ||||
| Regular and Special Police | Patrolling and Transport | The vehicle used by the regular police, unlike the original, is fitted with a high roof. This van, without markings and without an upgraded roof, is also used by the special police. In 2014, a project for mobile police stations was promoted in the area of Skopje and this van was chosen to be the main vehicle used in this project.[23] | ||||
| Border Police | Patrolling and Transport | Due to a lack of Vehicles, the Police of North Macedonia has begun using Border Police vehicles as regular Police vehicles. | ||||
| Patrolling and Transport | ||||||
| Helicopters | ||||||
| Helicopter Unit | Patrolling and Transport | One in Service. | ||||
| Helicopter Unit | Patrolling and Transport | One in Service. | ||||
| Helicopter Unit | Patrolling and Transport | One in Service. | ||||
| Helicopter Unit | Patrolling and Transport | One in Service. | ||||
| Helicopter Unit | Patrolling and Transport | Three in Service. | ||||
| Motorcycles | ||||||
| Traffic Police | CEO Transport | Used by the Department for Vanguard, Traffic and Escort Security (CEO) in its activities, including the escort of VIPs, officials, etc. | ||||
| Sanyang SYM HD2 200i | Traffic Police | CEO Transport | Used by the Department for Vanguard, Traffic and Escort Security (CEO) in its activities, including the escort of VIPs, officials, etc. | |||
| Traffic Police | CEO Transport | 120cc version is used[24] | ||||
| Armored Vehicles | ||||||
| Special Police | Transport | Known as the "Hermelin" (Stoat/Ermine in English). Used by the Special Operations Unit and the Rapid Deployment Unit. | ||||
| Special Police | Transport | Used by the Special Operations Unit and the Rapid Deployment Unit. | ||||
| Special Police | Transport | Used by the Special Operations Unit and the Rapid Deployment Unit. | ||||
| Special Police | Unknown |
| Vehicle | Photo | Origin | Users | Use | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Police | Patrolling and Transport | 210 were purchased in 2000 and used into the 2010s, averaging more than 500000km (300,000miles) traveled each.[25] [26] [27] [28] | |||
| Regular Police | Patrolling and Transport | ||||
| Regular Police | Patrolling and Transport | ||||
| Regular Police | Patrolling and Transport | ||||
| Name | Photo | Type | Origin | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pistols | ||||
| 9×19mm Standard issued pistol of the police. | ||||
| 9x19mmUsed by the Special Operations Unit. | ||||
| Submachine guns | ||||
| 9×19mmUsed by the Special Operations Unit. | ||||
| Assault Rifles | ||||
| 7.62×39mmUsed for special situations such as armed conflict, but can also be used daily by police station guards. | ||||
| 7.62×39mm and 5.56×45mmUsed by the Rapid Deployment Unit. | ||||
| 5.56×45mmUsed by the Rapid Deployment Unit. | ||||
| 5.56×45mmUsed by the Special Operations Unit. | ||||
| 7.62×39mmUsed by the Rapid Deployment Unit. | ||||
| Sniper Rifles | ||||
| 7.92×57mmUsed by the Rapid Deployment Unit. | ||||
| 12.7×108mmUsed by the Rapid Deployment Unit. | ||||
| Sako TRG-42 | 12.7×57mmUsed by the Rapid Deployment Unit. | |||
| .50 BMGUsed by the Rapid Deployment Unit. | ||||
| 7.62×51mm, .338 Lapua Magnum and .300 Winchester MagnumUsed by the Special Operations Unit. | ||||
| 7.62×54mmUsed by the Rapid Deployment Unit. | ||||
| Machine guns | ||||
| 7.62×54mmUsed by the Rapid Deployment Unit. | ||||
| 7.62×54mmUsed by the Rapid Deployment Unit. | ||||
| 5.56×45mmUsed by the Special Operations Unit. | ||||
Military Service for Security and Intelligence-G2 Military intelligence agency
