Gendarmerie
A gendarmerie (French) is a military body charged with general police duties. The members of such a body are gendarmes. Many French-speaking countries have a gendarmerie, but the national police of Austria is also a gendarmerie. It is also used as a generic term for any similar force. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is named in French Gendarmerie royale du Canada (GRC).
List of Gendarmerie and similar forces
- Argentine Gendarmerķa Nacional
- Austrian Bundesgendarmerie
- Chilean Carabineros
- Cretan Gendarmerie
- Dutch Koninklijke Marechaussee (Royal Constabulary)
- European Gendarmerie Force
- French Gendarmerie
- Germany Bundesgrenzschutz (name is going to be changed in Bundespolizei)
- Italian Carabinieri
- Portuguese Guarda Nacional Republicana
- Romanian Jandarmeria
- Russian Special Corps of Gendarmes (1836-1917)
- Serb Zandarmerija (2001)
- Spanish Guardia Civil
- Turkish Jandarma
In Belgium, the Gendarmerie (Rijkswacht in Dutch) was passed to civilian control in 1991. In 2001, the Gendarmerie was suppressed; the Belgian police forces were streamlined into federal and local police forces.