Myanmar Police Force Explained

Agencyname:Myanmar Police Force
Nativenamea:Burmese: မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ ရဲတပ်ဖွဲ့
Patch:Myanmar Police Force coat of arms.png
Patchcaption:Coat of arms
Logocaption:Emblem
Flag:Flag of the Myanmar Police Force.svg
Flagcaption:Flag
Motto:"ကူညီပါရစေ"
(May I Help You)
Preceding1:Indian Imperial Police
Employees:93,000 (2012)
Legaljuris:Myanmar
Country:Myanmar
Constitution6:-->
Police:yes
Speciality6:-->
Minister1name:Moe Aung
Minister1pfo:Minister of Home Affairs
Chief1name:Lieutenant general Ni Lin Aung
Chief1position:Chief of Police[1]
Parentagency:Ministry of Home Affairs
Child1agency:State and Division Police
Child2agency:Special Forces
Child3agency:Training Department
Child4agency:Reserve Units
Child5agency:Combat Police Battalions
Child6agency:Anti-Narcotics Task Force

The Myanmar Police Force (Burmese: မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ ရဲတပ်ဖွဲ့), formerly the People's Police Force (Burmese: ပြည်သူ့ရဲတပ်ဖွဲ့), is the law enforcement agency of Myanmar. It was established in 1964 as an independent department under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

History

The Police Force in Myanmar have an extensive history; the police force also includes local police and regional police in different jurisdictions.

British rule in Myanmar

The primary police force in British Burma was the Burma Police. In addition, there was a paramilitary Burma Military Police, the Railway Police, and the Rangoon Town Police. From roughly 1891, most executive positions within the Burma Police were filled by members of the Indian Imperial Police cadre.

In 1872 the third mayor of Mergui District, Sir Ashly Din (1870–1875) assigned the first police officer to be stationed at Maliwan, a village 24 miles north of current Victoria Point.

Perhaps the most famous policeman in Burma from this period is the author George Orwell, who in 1922 joined the Indian Imperial Police in Burma. Another famous colonial policeman in Burma was Hector Hugh Munro, known as Saki.

Post-independence (1948–present)

On 16 March 1988 following the killing of two students during the pro-democracy demonstrations, students marching on Prome Road were confronted near Inya Lake by the Burmese: Lon Htein security force riot police and many beaten to death or drowned.

The national police are made up of several smaller entities, including

Organisation

The current director general of Myanmar Police Force is Major General Zin Min Htet with its headquarters in Naypyidaw. Its command structure is based on established civil jurisdictions. Under the command of police headquarters, state and region police forces have been established in respective territories of states and divisions with headquarters in their capital cities.[2]

State and division police forces

There are 14 state and divisional police forces and three additional state/division police forces commanded by police brigadiers or colonels.Their jurisdictions are divided according to the Civil Administration. The states and divisions, additional states have the same status.

Each state and divisional police force consist of four components.

In previous time, the district police forces are classified into two classes depending on the area, population and development, namely A and B Class. Commanders of the A Class District Police Forces are police lieutenant colonels, and B Classes are police majors, but there is no classification and all districts assigned with lieutenant colonel. Commanders of township police forces are police majors, and police station officers are police captains.

Special Departments

There are four Special Departments, in which the first ten departments are headed by the police brigadier generals and the remaining two are by police colonels.

Training Centres

There are three main Training Centers, one Central Training Institute of Myanmar Police Force and Three Police Training Depots. The State and Divisional Police Forces have their own training centres for refresher courses and Junior Leader (NCO) Courses.

Bachelor's degree holders from Distance Learning University were disqualified from sitting the SIP exam. Thus vast numbers of Bachelor holding police personal were concerned for their future.

Course NameDuration
Deputy Superintendent Cadet Course50 weeks
Sub-Inspector Cadet Course6 weeks
Surveillance Officer Course6 weeks
Investigation Officer Course6 weeks
Police Station Officer Course8 weeks
Staff Officer Course6 weeks
Township Police Commander Course8 weeks
District Police Commander Course12 weeks

No. 1 Police Training Depot

The No.1 Police Training Depot is commanded by a Police Lieutenant Colonel and undertakes:

Course NameDuration
Basic Training Course for Lance Corporal and Corporal4 weeks
Warrant Officer and Police Sergeants Course12 Weeks
Basic Training Course for Constables24 weeks
Clerical Training4 weeks
Instructor Renewal Course4 weeks

No. 2 Police Training Depot

The No.2 Police Training Depot is also commanded by a Police Lieutenant Colonel, and undertakes only Basic Training Course for Constables, which normally takes around 6 months to complete.

Taung Lay Lone Police Training Depot

The Taung Lay Lone Police Training Depot is commanded by a Police Lieutenant Colonel and undertakes:

Course NameDuration
Basic Training Course for lance corporal and Corporal4 weeks
Warrant Officer and Police Sergeants Course12 Weeks
Basic Training Course for Constables6 Months

Combat Police Battalions (SWAT)

There are sixteen Police Battalions to carry out general security duties under the command of Battalion Control Command. The Battalion Commandants are Police Lieutenant Colonels. As the populace of the cities including Yangon and Mandalay have been increased day after day, problems on social, economy and politics are risen up that could lead to emergence of civil unrest and sabotage. It is necessary to prevent from destruction and harassment, VIP and project factories and workshops, security of diplomats and their embassies. Seven of these Police Battalions are situated in the Yangon Divisional areas and two in Mandalay and three in Arakan, one in Sagaing, one in Mon State, one in Pegu, one in Prome.

These specially-trained and combat capable battalions are formed with personnel from former Riot Security Police, better known as "Lon Htein" Units. Each battalion consists of 500+ personnel and these battalions are supported by two support battalions, which include signal and medical units. These battalions structure are similar to that of Army's Light Infantry Battalions and they are subordinate to their respective Regional Military Commands.

Anti-Narcotic Task Forces

26 special anti-narcotic task forces have been established under the direction of the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control.

Weapons and equipment

Myanmar Police Force uses a wide range of weapons and ammunitions, ranging from Second World War vintage weapons to modern sophisticated ones. Most of the weapons are either seized from ethnic militias and criminals or are locally-produced copies of the G3 and other weapons phased out by the army.

Pistols

Submachine guns

Shotguns

Rifles

Machine gun

Sniper rifle

Non-Lethal Weapons

Automobiles

Cars and Trucks

Armoured vehicles

PhotoModelTypeQuantityOriginNotes
Armoured vehicle/Armoured personnel carrier
ZFB-05Armoured personnel carrier10[5] Received by 2011, they were transferred to police from Myanmar Army.
Sinotruk HOWOWater cannon truckunknownOne of the most widely used against protesters in February 2021 Myanmar.
BAAC-87unknownOne of the most widely used against protesters in February 2021 Myanmar.

Coastal Patrol Craft

width=50pxClasswidth=50pxBuilderwidth=50pxSerial Numberwidth=50pxYear Entered Servicewidth=50pxArmamentwidth=50pxNote
PGM class331
332
333
334
2012 machine guns

River Patrol Boat

width=50pxClasswidth=50pxBuilderwidth=50pxSerial Numberwidth=50pxYear Entered Servicewidth=50pxArmamentwidth=50pxNote
PCE class, 171
151
152
153
154
156
001
002
003
161
162
2013 machine guns

Rank structure and insignia

Commissioned officers

Enlisted ranks

See also

References

Sources

Books

Journal articles

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Deputy Minister appointed and concurrently assigned to the duties of Chief of Myanmar Police Force. 3 May 2022. 3 May 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220503051023/https://www.moi.gov.mm/moi:eng/announcements/6940. live.
  2. Web site: Myanmar Police Force. 2022-04-22. ASEANPOL. 8 May 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220508094256/http://www.aseanapol.org/information/myanmar-police-force. live.
  3. https://www.guns.com/news/2017/05/20/the-greener-police-shotgun-engineered-gun-control The Greener Police Shotgun: Engineered gun control?
  4. Web site: The Enfield No.4 in Myanmar after WWII. May 13, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230514183140/https://wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com/2023/05/13/the-enfield-no-4-in-myanmar-after-wwii/. May 14, 2023.
  5. Web site: Trade Registers . Armstrade.sipri.org . 1 January 2015 . 12 November 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171112185733/http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/trade_register.php . live .