Law enforcement in Syria

Law enforcement in Syria is carried out by police forces for general policing duties; internal security duties are carried out by several intelligence agencies. The Political Security Directorate is one of these agencies and is under the guidance of the Ministry of Interior. The Directorate operates independently and generally outside the control of the legal system to repress internal dissent and monitor individual citizens. Syria is INTERPOL member since 1953.

The Ministry of Interior also controls the Internal Security Forces. There are also other specialized organizations, such as the special metropolitan police in Damascus (overseen by the Director General of the Public Security and Police), the Gendarmerie for control in rural areas and the Desert Guard for border control (especially the Syrian-Iraqi border). As of 2011, the head of police was General Mahmoud Sa’oudi.

The Internal Security Forces Day is on 29 May, declared after 29 May 1945, when French forces shelled the Parliament building in Damascus. Following the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War, several police forces have been established also by insurgent factions, as well as by Rojava Kurdish-held region and by Turkey.

Police history in Syria dates back to the French Mandate, when General Pierre Rondot established a Gendarmerie in order to maintain law and order in rural areas; led by General Wahid Bey, it was poorly armed, organized, disciplined and equipped and did not prove very effective against rebel forces, despite several attempts to ameliorate at least discipline and morale.

During the second half of 1944, France transferred most of the directorates of the Common Interests to the national governments, except the Levantine Special Forces and the police. To both the Lebanese and the Syrians, and to the Syrians in particular, the transfer of the army and police was of utmost importance; after several months of tense confrontation with the Syrian and Lebanese establishment, by July 1945 France had agreed to transfer control of the Levantine Special Forces. As with the Levantine Special Forces, French officers held the top posts in the security establishment, but as Syrian independence approached, the ranks below major were gradually filled by Syrian officers. By the end of 1945, the gendarmerie numbered some 3,500.

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Wikipedia