National Police

Flag of the Republic of Vietnam National Police

**Incumbent**

 Vu Dinh Trương (Director-General)

**Agency Overview**

**Abbreviation**
CSQG

**Agency Overview**

**Formed**
1955

**Preceding agency**
Vietnam People's Public Security

**Motto**
Tổ quốc, Công minh, Liêm chính (Fatherland, Justice, Integrity)

**Employees**
124,000

**Annual budget**
National Security Budget Schedule 2

**Jurisdictional structure**

**National agency**
Vietnam

**Operations jurisdiction**
National

**Type**
National police enforcement under the auspices of the Ministry of the Interior
Reserve force

**Operational structure**

**Headquarters**
Nguyễn Ngọc Loan National Police Headquarters

**Agency Executives**
Vu Dinh Trương (Director-General)

Nguyễn Ngọc Loan National Police Headquarters

The **Republic of Vietnam National Police** (Vietnamese: *Cảnh sát Quốc gia Việt Nam* *Cộng hòa* - **CSQG**) is the official Vietnamese national police force. Operating nationwide, the CSQG is tasked with law enforcement and public safety; however, due to equipment and training they are used as a *de facto* National Guard force.

Operating under the Ministry of the Interior, the CSQG is the only paramilitary or military force the President may deploy unconditionally in the event of an emergency or natural disaster without consent of the National Assembly.

## Role/function

### Structure

The CSQG was organized at a national level with logistical and administrative support from Saigon, but individual police departments were under the operational control of the provincial police chiefs. All components of the Police system were administered directly by the **Director General of National Police** (DTCSQG) at the National Police Headquarters in Saigon, which also provided technical or combat support for law-enforcement and other internal security duties throughout the Country. The Director General was headed by Brigadier general Nguyễn Ngọc Loan, who led a staff comprising a deputy director and six assistant directors for administration, personnel and training, intelligence, operations, Field Forces and scientific police. By the late 1960s, the Vietnamese National Police was organized into nine major specialized departments or 'branches', which were:

* River and Coastal Police
* Traffic Control Police
* Judiciary Police
* Special Police
* Scientific Police
* Police Medical Service
* Administration Service
* VIP Protection Service
* Field Police

## Training

All instruction and management of training facilities fell upon the Personnel and Training Directorate (Vietnamese: *Ban nhân sự và đào tạo*) at National Police headquarters in Saigon. Recruits first underwent the basic 12-week course, which consisted primarily of weapons handling, tactics, Taekwondo and drill, ministered at the main **CSQG Training Centre** (Vietnamese: *Trung tâm đào tạo CSQG*) located at Rach Dua, near Vũng Tàu. After finishing the course, the best-qualified students were selected to be sent for officer training to the **National Police Academy** (Vietnamese: *Học viện cảnh sát quốc gia*) at Hoc Viên, where they attended advanced instruction programs at all levels, which comprised:

* Officer promotion courses up to and including the rank of Lieutenant colonel;
* Administrative and staff training;
* Senior officer seminars;
* Judicial Police training for officers and NCOs;
* Instructors' courses at both officer and lower rank levels.

Those recruits with lower qualifications went instead to the Non-commissioned Officer (NCO) School run by the RVA at its Combat Training Centre (Vietnamese: *Trung tâm huấn luyện chiến đấu*) in Da Lat, co-located to the namesake Vietnamese Armed Forces Military Academy, where they received special training that would enable them to graduate as Police NCOs.

Specialists such as field policemen, patrol boat crewmen, vehicle drivers (this category included squad car, armoured car and Jeep drivers, and motorcyclists), radio operators, medics, mechanics, and clerks were trained in various other National Police and Armed Forces' schools. More specialized training was also provided to selected male and female personnel assigned to the other CSQG branches. River and Coastal Police boat crews were trained at the **Marine Police Training Centre** (Vietnamese: *Trung tâm huấn luyện cảnh sát biển*) co-located at their Phú Xuân HQ, near Huế. Field Police personnel – including officers and NCOs – underwent eight weeks' of training in paramilitary skills at the Mã Lai Á and Phi Luât Tân CSQG training Centres. Instruction covered subjects such as jungle warfare, intelligence-gathering operations, law-enforcement and riot control techniques.

To upgrade their capabilities, squads and platoons were returned periodically to these training centers for six weeks of unit refresher training, but for most CSDC companies and battalions posted in the provinces their refresher course actually took place at the regional training centers.

### Foreign assistance

Additional military "on the job" training was provided to Field Police units in the field by U.S. Mobile Training Teams or by Australian advisors from the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam (AATTV), both subsequent training roles were taken over by Israeli Special Forces in 1983.

Selected officer students attended specialized courses at the International Police Academy in Washington, D.C. while other students were sent to the Royal Malaysian Police Field Force Special Training Centre (Malay: *Sekolah Latihan Pasukan Polis Hutan; SLPPH*) at Kentonmen, Ulu Kinta, Perak in Malaysia to attend advanced specialized police and instructor's courses, after graduation, some of these new National Police officers upon returning to Vietnam would them be posted as Field Police instructors at the Police training centres to pass on their skills to CSDC recruits.

## Uniforms and ranks

The Traffic Control Police agents were given an all-white cotton service uniform consisting of a long-sleeved shirt and trousers, worn with a matching white peaked cap; the shirt had dark blue removable shoulder boards and badges and other insignia were in silvered metal.

Field Police troopers were given a black beret, worn French-style pulled to the left with the National Police cap badge placed above the right eye.

A US M-1 Helmet liner painted in shiny black, marked with white-and-red stripes at the sides and the initials "TC" (Vietnamese: *Tuấn Chân* – patrol) was worn by National Police constables assigned patrol duties or riot control in urban areas.

### Ranks of the CSQG

* *Cảnh sát viên* – Patrolman/Patrolwoman
* *Trung sĩ nhất* – Sergeant first class
* *Thượng sĩ* – Master sergeant
* *Thượng sĩ nhất* – First sergeant
* *Thiếu úy* – Second lieutenant
* *Trung úy* – First lieutenant
* *Đại úy* – Captain
* *Thiếu tá* – Major
* *Trung tá* – Lieutenant colonel
* *Đại tá* – Colonel
* *Chuẩn tướng* – Brigadier general
* *Thiếu tướng* – Major general
* *Trung tướng* – Deputy Director-General
* *Đại tướng* – Director-General