page_title: Law enforcement in Syria
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Law enforcement in Syria / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Hrant Maloyan (29 November 1896 - 1978), also known as Hrant Bek, was an Syrian-Armenian military serviceman who became the general officer of the Syrian army and was appointed General Command of the Internal Security Forces in Syria.
context_page_description: 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 has been an INTERPOL member since 1953. Since the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War, much of Syria has been outside the control of the Syrian government. Currently, the Asayish are responsible for policing in Rojava, the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Police in areas under the Turkish occupation of northern Syria, and various Syrian opposition groups around Idlib
  The Ministry of Interior controls the Internal Security Forces. There are also other specialized organizations, such as the special metropolitan police in Damascus, the Gendarmerie for control in rural areas and the Desert Guard for border control. General Nasser Deeb is the head of the Criminal Security Directorate.
context_section_description: 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.
caption: General Hrant Maloyan. He was essential in the establishment of the Syrian law enforcement system.
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