Ministry of Public Security (Vietnam)

The Ministry of Public Security (MPS, Vietnamese: Bộ Công an (BCA)) is a central governmental ministry and one of the biggest ministries of the Government of Vietnam, performing the function of state management of security, order and social safety; counterintelligence; crime prevention investigation; fire prevention and rescue; execution of criminal judgments, judgment enforcement not subject to imprisonment, custody or temporary detention; legal protection and support; State management of public services in sectors and fields under the Ministry's state management. It is headed by the Minister of Public Security. The MPS manages the Vietnam People's Public Security, the Vietnamese uniformed police forces - while also responsible for domestic civilian administrative management, similar to the role of a standard Ministry of Interior (not to be confused with the Vietnam Ministry of Home Affairs). Col. Gen. Lương Tam Quang has been Vietnam's Minister of Public Security since June 6, 2024. History The foundation of the MPS started on August 19, 1945, when the Indochinese Communist Party formed three departments, consisting of the Security Service Bureau in Northern Vietnam, the Surveillance Service in central Vietnam, and the National Self-Defense Force Bureau in southern Vietnam. The three departments protected Ho Chi Minh and other CPV leaders in time for September 2, 1945 when independence was declared for the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. On February 21, 1945, Ho Chi Minh signed Decree 23, which unified the three bureaus into the Vietnam People's Police Department under the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Le Gian served as the first head of the MIA. The Sub-Ministry of Public Security was established in February 1953 when it was under North Vietnamese control after Ho Chi Minh signed Decree 141/SL. At the time of establishment, it formally had seven departments and divisions. After the Government Council was presided over from August 27 to 29 of 1953, the Sub-Ministry was updated to the Ministry of Public Security. In 1957, it first made official connections to the Stasi, the secret police of the German Democratic Republic. From 1972, Stasi head Erich Mielke provided technical assistance to the MPS in improving its intelligence and surveillance state operations throughout Vietnam, particularly after selected MPS personnel were sent to East Germany for further training. On 12 June 1981, Decree 250/CP was signed, which defined the mandate of the Ministry of Interior. The Interior Minister then signed Decision 12-QD/BNV, which prescribed the powers of the General Department of Police (GDP) and its 12 subordinate units. The Ministry of Public Security received many titles such as Hero of the People's Armed Forces 13 times, Gold Star Order (Vietnam) and 88 Ho Chi Minh Orders. Controversies Following the Fall of Saigon, the MPS imprisoned at least 200,000 to 300,000 former South Vietnamese military officers, government employees, and supporters of the former government of South Vietnam in re-education camps, where both physical torture and mental abuse were common. The MPS has also played a role in the surveillance and persecution of dissident poets, writers, and political prisoners, and in the ongoing efforts to repress the Vietnamese democracy movement, especially since the 2006 foundation of Bloc 8406. For example, lawyer and labor union activist Trần Quốc Hiền was sentenced in 2007 to five years imprisonment for "endangering state security", membership in Bloc 8406, and writing online articles titled, "The Tail", which critically described life under MPS surveillance. Structure The MPS is structured according to the following, as of 2018: Office of the Ministry of Public Security (V01) Bureau of Foreign Affairs (V02) Bureau of Legal Affairs and Judicial Reform (V03) Bureau of Science, Strategy and History of the Public Security (V04) Bureau of Construction of the Movement to Protect National Security (V05) Bureau of Professional Records (V06) Bureau of Organization and Personnel (X01) Bureau of Training (X02) Bureau of Party and Political Affairs (X03) Bureau of Media of People's Public Security (X04) Inspector of the Ministry of Public Security (X05) Central Public Security Party Committee Inspection Commission (X06) Bureau of Foreign Security (A01) Bureau of Homeland Security (A02) Bureau of Internal Political Security (A03) Bureau of Economic Security (A04) Bureau of Cybersecurity and Cybercrime Prevention and Control (A05) Bureau of Technical Services (A06) Bureau of External Affairs (A07) Bureau of Immigration (A08) Bureau of Investigation Security (A09) Bureau of Information Processing and Intelligence Support (B01) Bureau of Asia Intelligence (B02) Bureau of Americas, Europe, and Africa Intelligence (B03) Bureau of Secret Intelligence (B04) Bureau of Economic, Scientific, and Technical Intelligence (B05) Office of the Police Investigation Agency (C01) Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation (C02) Police Bureau of Corruption, Financial Crimes, and Smuggling Investigation (C03) Bureau of Counter-Narcotics Police (C04) Police Bureau of Environmental Crime Prevention (C05) Police Bureau for Administrative Management of Social Order (C06) Police Bureau of Fire Prevention and Rescue (C07) Bureau of Traffic Police (C08) Police Bureau for Managing Prisons, Compulsory education institutions, and Reform school (C10) Police Bureau for Managing Custody, Temporary detention, and Criminal judgment execution in the Community (C11) Bureau of Planning and Finance (H01) Bureau of Equipment and Logistics (H03) Bureau of Construction Management and Barracks (H02) Bureau of Telecommunications and Cipher (H04) Bureau of Information Technology (H05) Bureau of Health (H06) Bureau of Logistics (H07) Bureau of Security Industry (H08) VIP Protection Command (K01) (Bureau-level equivalent with the task of protecting high-ranking officials of the Party and Government of Vietnam, heads of state, and international guests visiting and working in Vietnam, working areas, activities, and conferences of the Party and the Government of Vietnam) Mobile Police Command (K02) (Bureau-level equivalent with the task of implementing armed measures to protect national security and maintain order and social safety as the Ministry's police tactical unit) International Academy (B06) Vietnam People's Security Academy (T01/C500) Vietnam People's Police Academy (T02/T18/T32) Vietnam People's Public Security Political Academy (T03/T29) Vietnam People's Security University (T04/T47) Vietnam People's Police University (T05/T48) Vietnam Police Fire Prevention and Fighting University (T06/K56) Vietnam Technical - Logistics People's Public Security University (T07/T36) Vietnam People's Security College I (T08) Vietnam People's Police College I (T09) Vietnam People's Police College II (T10) Institute of Criminal Science (C09) Institute of Science and Technology (H09) Hospital 19th of August Hospital 30th of April Hospital One Nine-Nine - 199 Traditional Medicine Hospital See more Law enforcement in Vietnam Ministry of National Defence References