Cantonal Gendarmerie
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Fribourg 1804 - Jura 1804 - Vaud 1803 Attachment authority: Canton d’implantation Workforce: Fribourg 401 - Jura 70 - Vaud 680 Township Manager: Fribourg - Lieutenant-colonel Philippe Allain Jura - Capitaine Gilles Bailat Vaud - Lieutenant-colonel Alain Gorka Addresses: Police cantonale de Fribourg, Case postale 160, Tél.: 0041 (0)26 305 17 17 Website: www.fr.ch/pol/fr/ Police cantonale du Jura, Les Prés-Roses 1 Tél.: 0041 (0)32 420 67 26 Email: poc.gend@jura.ch Police cantonale de Vaud, Route de la Blécherette 101, Centre de la Blécherette, CH-1014 Lausanne Tél.: 0041 (0)21 644 44 44 Website: www.police.vd.ch/ Email: secretariat-em.gdm@vd.ch 
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History
In Switzerland, the Police missions are carried at the level of every canton, which has a sovereign power within the framework of the confederacy. The term of "Gendarmerie" is a napoleonic inheritance preserved in certain cantons of French-speaking Switzerland. The Swiss gendarmes have no military status. In 2009, the Gendarmerie disappeared in the canton of Neuchâtel. At present, there is a Gendarmerie in the cantons of Fribourg, Geneva, Jura and Vaud. At present, the police is exercised by cantons, which act as so many sovereign States. The cantonal police in four cantons of French-speaking Switzerland is generally subdivided into two Corps:
• the Gendarmerie, the police in uniform that exercises the tasks of emergency services, of proximity and of taking complaints;
• the security police, inspectors in civilian clothes who exercise the Criminal Investigation Department missions (acts of delinquency/crimes and serious crime).
The Gendarmerie of Fribourg
In 1804, a 43 men corps of Gendarmerie on foot is created in the canton of Fribourg. In 1920, the corps of the security police is created in turn. In 1972, the obligation for the single gendarmes to sleep in barracks or in the post is abolished. In 1982, a unique command, set up for the cantonal police, is responsible for the direction of the Gendarmerie and the security police. In 1988, the first civil employee is enlisted as conveyor driver. In 1990, the November 15th law on the cantonal police plans that "Cantonal police, organized according to military principles, is composed of the Gendarmerie and the security police". In 1999, the first women gendarme’s officer-cadets are recruited. In 2002, the Gendarmerie is reorganized in three Gendarmerie Intervention Centres (GIC) in Granges-Paccot, Domdidier and Vaulruz. In 2005, the new uniform of French-speaking Switzerland is adopted. In 2012, the Major Philippe Allain takes up his post of Head of the Fribourg Gendarmerie the 1st April.
The Gendarmerie of Jura
Reorganized in 2015, the Jura Gendarmerie is one of the Jura police four sectors, which includes one "Command", a "Criminal Investigation Department" and a "Population’s protection and security".
The Gendarmerie of Vaud
On February 19th, 1803, Bonaparte writes the Act of mediation assigning a new constitution in the Swiss Confederation, which, while preserving its independence, undergoes the French influence. The law of June 4th, 1803 creates a company of 100 gendarmes on foot, mainly constituted by Vaudois having fought in the napoleonic armies. In June 1809, the staff size is raised to 150 men. In October 1926, the first dog handlers are recruited. In 1930, the first traffic road brigades are created. In December 1936, a mounted Gendarmerie unit is created before being suppressed in 1946. In October 1953, a school brigade is established. The brigade of the lake is set up in Ouchy on August 4th, 1962, whereas the 1st motorway brigade is inaugurated on May 27th, 1963 on the Geneva-Lausanne axis. In 1988, the judicial groups emerge. In 1998, the first women gendarmes are recruited. On June 4th, 2003, the vaudoise Gendarmerie celebrates its bicentenary. On June 1st, 2006, the vaudoise Gendarmerie museum opens its doors.
Organization
Central Organization
The Gendarmerie of Fribourg
General Staff. The cantonal Police has a 6 people’s forces staff. It consists of a Police Commander, of the Gendarmerie head, of the security police head, of the leader of general services, of the human resources head and of the Command Services leader. To these people are added the communication and prevention sector head and the legal department head.
The Gendarmerie of Jura
The Gendarmerie, under the Gendarmerie Commander’s orders, is divided into three sections. The first one gathers together the specific missions agents (intervention, dog unit, training, road traffic, etc.). In sections II and III, about sixty agents are ensuring the emergency services and proximity police missions. It should be noted that a six gendarmes’ detachment is eventually allocated at the Saignelégier police station. The collaboration between three Gendarmerie sections is close and daily.
The Gendarmerie of Vaud
Vaudoise Gendarmerie General staff in Lausanne.
Territorial organization
The Gendarmerie of Fribourg
• 3 Gendarmerie Intervention Centres (GIC): Domdidier North GIC, Granges-Paccot Central GIC, and Vaulruz South GIC.
The Gendarmerie of Jura
• Section I: group of intervention, dog unit, in-service training, road traffic and telecommunications and engagement plant.
• Section II: emergency services and proximity police. This section mainly works in the Delémont Valley.
• Section III: emergency services and proximity police. This section rather works on Ajoie and the Frank Mountains.
The Gendarmerie of Vaud
• 4 Gendarmerie districts: the Coast, the North vaudois, Lausanne, East.
• 6 Squads of gendarmes, which gather the Gendarmerie posts of the same district or of two districts.
• 30 Gendarmerie posts.
Specialized Training
The Gendarmerie of Fribourg
• The Maintenance of law and order unit. It works under the shape of a militia service. This is actually one of the multiple activities of the gendarme there, who punctually removed from his/her ordinary service, is allocated to a maintenance of law and order detachment in case of demonstrations with public order high potential disorders.
• The Fribourg Cantonal Police Intervention Group (FCPIG) created in 1988.
• The navigation and traffic police. It consists of specialists distributed in three main sectors:
- the road education. Its agents make the pupils sensitive to road dangers and move every year in the classes,
- the police of the lake that ensure the Fribourg lake security and control,
- the divers ‘group,
- the dog handlers’ group, created in 1912, consisting of 13 gendarmes and 16 dogs,
- the technical section:
. the radar group. It controls highways A1 and A12,
. the accident technical group,
. the OTR-SDR group specialized in the professional carriers control.
The Gendarmerie of Jura
• Telecommunication and engagement plant Operators.
The Gendarmerie of Vaud
The Gendarmerie operational head has in first level of a projectable unit on the entire cantonal territory, for a ground operation support in the domains of the public order, the judicial and the traffic.
The Gendarmerie Support Light Strength (GSLS) offers an operational support and leads targeted actions against the criminality.
The specialized units bring a transverse support and carry out particular missions.
They intervene in their own sphere of expertise and/or in support to the other entities, including the municipal polices:
• traffic: mainly active in the field of the road accident prevention, education in schools, management of radars and fines of order, the entity is also in charge of serious accidents (plans and photos);
• quick Action and Dissuasion Detachment (QADD): Gendarmerie intervention group, which intervenes mainly during dangerous and sensitive interventions (maniacs, hostage taking, dangerous people);
• dog unit: dogs and dog handlers operate in the search of narcotics, objects, explosives or people, both during interventions than during preventive missions;
• team specialized in deactivating and neutralizing "booby traps" and explosive: Its members intervene for preventive services, to neutralize objects or suspicious packages, get back out-of-date explosives or old military shells;
• the Lake Brigades: Stationed in Lausanne and in Yverdon-les-Bains, they mainly carry out the navigation police missions on the Léman and the Neuchâtel lakes. They are also required for the interventions in underwater circles on all the canton lake and water aeras.
• group of transfer and prison zone: in charge of conveying the canton prison establishments detained people towards the courts, the hospitals, or other destinations, as well the accused persons’ preservation in the cantonal police retention zone and their transfers;
• 4 anti-riot police centres: Mounts/ Lausanne-Blécherette, Yverdon-les-Bains, Rennaz, Bursins. Four Anti-riot Police Centres (APC) shared out in the canton allow to arrange necessary infrastructures and equipment for the anti-riot police units/Mobile Gendarmerie Unit mission performed (MGU). The latter are organized in sections under the unified command of an officer, what allows to manage the resources according to needs on the whole cantonal territory.
• 2 lake brigades: Lausanne and Yverdon-les-Bains.
Missions
The Gendarmerie has for mission to ensure the security and law and order preservation, as well as to assume the traffic police tasks, 24 hours a day on the whole cantonal territory, in the service of the population and the authorities. It also handles the minor offences and takes the first measures within the framework of the graver breaches, which will be resumed by the Criminal Investigation Department.
Staff
The Gendarmerie of Fribourg
In December 2014, the Gendarmerie of Fribourg counts 370 agents, 19,85 auxiliaries policemen and 21,20 civilians (Figures in EFL = Equivalents full-time). The women represent 27 % of the staff.
The Gendarmerie of Jura
The territorial Gendarmerie consists of 70 females and males agents who are wearing the uniform. These females and males collaborators, split in 5 groups, work on the whole territory and according to a 24 hours a day "tournus" system.
The Gendarmerie of Vaud
The Gendarmerie vaudoise counts 680 gendarmes in uniform.
Training institutions
The Gendarmerie of Fribourg
Fribourg Police aspirant’s school - eap-pas@fr.ch
The Gendarmerie of Vaud
Savatan Police Academy - www.academie-de-police.ch
Main equipment
Not communicated.
© The iconography was provided by the concerned gendarmeries