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Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters ofnational security andintelligence inBritish,Commonwealth, Irish, and other police forces. A Special Branch unit acquires and develops intelligence, usually of a political or sensitive nature, and conducts investigations to protect theState from perceived threats ofsubversion, particularly terrorism and other extremist political activity.
The first Special Branch, orSpecial Irish Branch, as it was then known, was a unit of London'sMetropolitan Police formed in March 1883 to combat theIrish Republican Brotherhood. The name becameSpecial Branch as the unit's remit widened to include more than just Irish Republican-related counterespionage.
Most state police forces and the federal police had a Special Branch. They were tasked mainly with monitoring theCommunist Party of Australia and related political groups regarded as extremist or subversive.[citation needed] They also focused on German and Japanese activity duringWorld War II.
TheSecurity and Intelligence Branch, also known as Special Branch, is a domesticintelligence andsecurity service in theCommonwealth of the Bahamas. It is mandated to perform intelligence operations inside theBahamas to ensure the safety ofBahamiancitizens and foreigners. The branch is also mandated to performbackground checks on persons who have been recruited for jobs such as police officers anddefence force officers and to check persons up for promotions.[13] The Director of the Security Intelligence Branch holds the rank of Chief Superintendent.
The Bangladeshi Special Branch is an intelligence agency ofBangladesh Police. The Special Branch has twelve different sections through which it carries out the directives of the Government and around 64 district based offices, called District Special Branch and also has offices in many Upazila/Thana areas. All the members are recruited from theBangladesh Police. The chief of the Special Branch has the rank of Additional Inspector General (Addl IGP) and reports directly to thePrime Minister of Bangladesh.
It is responsible for the internal affairs of the country and collecting intelligence on behalf of the security services.
The ISD was created to replace the Royal Brunei Police's Special Branch division, which was disbanded on August 1, 1993.
TheRCMP Security Service was a counterintelligence unit or "Special Branch" from 1950 to 1984. It was replaced by theCanadian Security Intelligence Service.
The Special Branch unit of theFiji Police Force is classed as one of the best intelligence units in the Asia Pacific region. Similar to their Commonwealth counterparts, the Fijian Special Branch deals with matters of national security. They facilitate Interpol, counter terrorism, surveillance, anti-espionage and VIP protection units. Entry into Special Branch is usually by recruitment. Even though it is a police unit, Special Branch also recruits from theRepublic of Fiji Military Forces.
The unit's name was changed to the Fiji Police Intelligence Bureau in 2009.[14] According to the Fijian government, this was done due to the "impact of modern crimes with other unlawful and illegal activities in national development demands dramatic changes in the Force."[15] This was also done while the police force was being modernised.[15]
In the face of a perceived direct Communist threat to Hong Kong, an Anti-Communist Squad was established in the Criminal Investigation Department of the thenHong Kong Police by 1930. It was named thePolitical Department in Chinese (政治部). In 1933, the squad's English name became "Special Branch" while its Chinese name remained unchanged.[16]: 203 In addition to anti-subversion operations, its role during its first two decades also included immigration, passport control and registration of persons.[16]: 204
The division was disbanded in 1995, prior to thetransfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997.[17] Units of SB were reassigned under the Security Wing (Department B) – Crime and Security.[18]
The Special Branch is a separate wing in thestate police agencies in India. Like their counterparts in the United Kingdom, they deal with matters of state security. However, more serious espionage detection is the responsibility of theIntelligence Bureau (IB), India's federal internal security agency. The nomenclature varies from state to state, such asState Special Branch (SSB),Special Branch CID (SB-CID),State Intelligence Department (SID),etc.
The Special Branch functions at the state level and is headed by a senior-ranked officer, theAdditional Director General of Police (ADGP). The State Special Branch is responsible for collecting, assessing, and collating significant intelligence and communicating it to the government through periodic and special reports. The special branch functions as an intelligence agency and as the eyes and ears of the respective state governments. The special branch consists of several units such as Intelligence, Security, Internal Security, and sub-units like the extremist cell, digital surveillance unit, organized crime cell, VVIP security, bomb detection disposal squad, foreigners cell, passport verification, etc."
There have been many allegations that the Special Branch is used by the ruling government for setting up surveillance on their political opponents. The Special Branch has its own DetectiveConstables, Head Constables,Inspector rankings and superior police officer rankings. Every police station is to have a Special Branch head constable or AssistantSub-Inspector (ASI) (working plain clothes orMufti), he would be observing the society in general, and also taking reports from the uniformed police constables on general patrol. The special branch staff play a very important role in collecting advance intelligence about law and order matters as well as illegal activities likecannabis plantation/transportation, illicit attacks, etc. They forward the information to the respectiveSuperintendents of police for necessary action.
In Ireland, the 'Special Branch' is known officially as theSpecial Detective Unit (SDU). Thecounter-terrorist andcounterintelligence unit operates under the auspices of theCrime & Security Branch (CSB) of theGarda Síochána (Irish National Police). The SDU is responsible for the investigation of threats to state security and the monitoring of persons and groups who pose a threat on both national and international fronts. The SDU works closely with other special units within theGarda Síochána, such as theNational Surveillance Unit (NSU) andEmergency Response Unit (ERU), and Ireland's national and militaryintelligence agency – theDefence Forces Directorate of Military Intelligence. The Special Detective Unit has a close working relationship with similar units in other western countries, particularly the United Kingdom, who share information to target, detect and disrupt the activities of terrorists.[19]
TheMalaysian Special Branch is an intelligence agency attached to theRoyal Malaysian Police (RMP). The SB is empowered to acquire and develop intelligence on internal and external threats to the nation, subversive activities, extremist activities and activities of sabotage and spying. It is also empowered to analyse and advise on the necessary course of action to the various departments and agencies both within the Police Department and other related agencies.
The Special Branch under the control of the Myanmar Police Force is also known as the Special Intelligence Department.[20][21]
TheNew Zealand Police Special Branch was formally created on 29 December 1949. At the time, the-thenPolice Commissioner Jim Cummings decided that the section of the Police Force dealing with subversive organisations would be designated the Special Branch, following a recent precedent established by a conference of Police Commissioners in Melbourne in November 1949. Its functions included dealing with subversive organisations and vetting public servants. Known targets of the Special Branch included theCommunist Party of New Zealand, theWaterside Workers' Union, and the left-wing New Zealand diplomat and allegedKGB spyDesmond Patrick Costello and the civil servant and intellectualBill Sutch. In November 1956, the Special Branch's functions were transferred to theNew Zealand Security Service, which was later renamed theNew Zealand Security Intelligence Service.[22][23][24]
The Special Branch is an intelligence unit of thePolice Service of Pakistan.[25]
Special Branch sections of the New Guinea Police Force and Royal Papuan Constabulary, in Australia-controlledTerritory of Papua andTerritory of New Guinea, were established in 1947.[26] These were merged into theRoyal Papua New Guinea Constabulary in 1950.
TheBritish South Africa Police (BSAP) developed its Special Branch in the early 1950s amid growing political unrest in theFederation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. It remained active following the dissolution of the federation and was instrumental in creating theSelous Scouts during theRhodesian Bush War.[27] Following formal recognition ofZimbabwean independence in 1980, the Special Branch was succeeded in part by theCentral Intelligence Organisation and later, the Police Internal Security and Intelligence division (PISI).
The Internal Security Department of Singapore was initially established as the Criminal Intelligence Department in 1918 after theSepoy Mutiny of 1915. In 1933, the CID was renamed as Special Branch.[28]
In 1939, it was restructured into theMalayan Security Service (MSS) which was not yet fully operational by the time of the outbreak of theSecond World War. The MSS was disrupted by the Japanese invasion and subsequentoccupation of Singapore andMalaya. It was disbanded in 1948 and two secret branches, one in Singapore and the other in Malaysia, were created.[29]
The Singapore Special Branch (SSB) was first established on 23 August 1948 by the British colonial government, after theCommunist Party of Malaya (CPM) launched an armed uprising to establish a communist state.[30] It was structured under theSingapore Police Force and headed by a Deputy Commissioner.
After Singapore achieved independence, the SSB was renamed as the Internal Security Department and became a separate agency on 17 February 1966, together with its foreign counterpart, theSecurity and Intelligence Division (SID). Both agencies operated under the formerMinistry of Interior and Defence until 11 August 1970, when the ministry was split into theMinistry of Defence (MINDEF) and MHA with SID and ISD falling under them respectively.[31]
DuringApartheid, theSouth African Police's Security Branch, also known as the Special Branch[32] was a police unit often used to attack anti-Apartheid groups using techniques and tactics including such as conducting surveillance, infiltrating meetings, recruiting informers, and obtaining documents and leaflets. They have also been linked to torture, extralegal detention, andforced disappearances and assassinations against anti-Apartheid activists in the ANC and SACP. They first gained this role in the 1960s, under the regime of Justice Minister "B.J." Vorster, who convened the Special Branch to target these groups. Controversially, they have also been linked to the bombing of anti-apartheid groups COSATU and SACC during the South African Truth & Reconciliation Committees.[33] It is now the Crime Intelligence Unit which investigates crime but which continues to investigate groups perceived to beenemies of the state such as social movements.[34]
The Special Branch of Ceylon (nowSri Lanka) was created in late 1966 tasked withnational security as an intelligence agency attached toCeylon Police Force. This was closed down in 1970.
The firstSpecial Branch in the world was that of theMetropolitan Police, formed in London in 1883, with eachBritish police force going on to form its own Special Branch. In Northern Ireland, theRoyal Ulster Constabulary (1922–2001) had theRUC Special Branch. Many of those in county and city police forces have since been merged or converted into inter-force regional counter terrorism units and organised crime units.[35][36]