List of historical secret police organizations

This is a list of historical secret police organizations. In most cases they are no longer current because the regime that ran them was overthrown or changed, or they changed their names. Few still exist under the same name as legitimate police forces.

Agencies by country

[Afghanistan]

Khedamat-e Etelea'at-e Dawlati, active in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
* WAD

[Albania]

Sigurimi, active in the People's Socialist Republic of Albania

[Algeria]

Département du Renseignement et de la Sécurité

[Angola]

Directorate of Information and Security of Angola, active in the People's Republic of Angola

[Argentina]

Sección Especial de Represión al Comunismo
División de Información Política Antidemocrática

[Austria]

Geheime Staatspolizei '', active in the Austrian Empire

[Bangladesh]

Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini was a Bangladeshi para-military force formed in 1972 by the Sheikh Mujibur Rahman government.

Initially formed to curb the insurgency and maintain law and order the force became involved in numerous charges of human rights abuse including political killings, shooting by death squads, and rape. It was seen as the armed wing of the ruling Awami League and it swore an oath of loyalty to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The Force was disbanded and merged with the Bangladesh Army following the August 15th 1975 coup which dislodged Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from power.

[Bolivia]

Servicio Especial de Seguridad

[Brazil]

4th Auxiliary Police Bureau
Departamento de Ordem Política e Social, active during the Estado Novo and the military dictatorship
Departamento de Operações Internas-Centro de Operações de Defesa Interna, active during the military dictatorship

[Bulgaria]

Komitet za dǎržavna sigurnost, most commonly referred to as the State Security, or DS, active in the People's Republic of Bulgaria

[Cambodia]

Santebal – secret police during the Khmer Rouge period

[Cameroon]

Centre National d'Étude et de Recherche

[Central African Republic]

Force spéciale de défense des institutions républicaines
Unité de sécurité présidentielle
Office central de répression du banditisme

[Chad]

Direction de la Documentation et de la Sécurité

[Chile]

Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional, active during the regime of Augusto Pinochet
Central Nacional de Informaciones, active during the regime of Augusto Pinochet

[China]

[Colombia]

Administrative Department of Security Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad

Congo, [People's Republic of">People's Republic of the Congo">Congo, [People's Republic of]

General Directorate for State Security

Croatia, [Independent State of">Independent State of Croatia">Croatia, [Independent State of]

Ravnateljstvo za javni red i sigurnost / Glavno ravnateljstvo za javni red i sigurnost
''Ustaška nadzorna služba''

[Cuba]

Bureau for the Repression of Communist Activities

[Czechoslovakia]

Státní bezpečnost / Štátna bezpečnosť, active in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic

[Dominican Republic]

Servicio Inteligencia Militar – Military Intelligence Service under Rafael Trujillo

[Egypt]

State Security Investigations Service

[Finland]

[Germany]

Preußische Geheimpolizei – active in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Confederation, the North German Confederation, the German Empire and the Weimar Republic; merged in the Gestapo
Geheime Staatspolizei – active in Nazi Germany
Geheime Feldpolizei – The Wehrmacht's version of the Gestapo
SS-Sicherheitsdienst – The intelligence agency of the Nazi Party and the SS
Ministerium für Staatssicherheit – active in the German Democratic Republic during the Cold War

Greece

Organization for the Protection of the People's Struggle
*National Civil Guard
*People's Civil Guard
Greek Military Police, active as a secret police force during the Greek military junta

[Guatemala]

Cuerpo de Detectives
Policía Judicial
Policía Militar Ambulate
Guardia de Hacienda
Centro de Servicios Especiales de la Presidencia

[Haiti]

Service d'Information
Milice de Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale, active during the Duvalier dynasty

[Honduras]

Departamento Nacional de Investigaciones

[Hong Kong]

Special Branch

[Hungary]

[Indonesia]

Komando Pemulihan Keamanan dan Ketertiban, active during the regime of Suharto

[Iran]

Sazeman-i Ettelaat va Amniyat-i Keshvar, active in the Imperial State of Iran

[Iraq]

Shurta, secret police of the Abbasid caliphs active during the Abbasid Empire
Jihaz Al-Mukhabarat Al-A'ma, active in Ba'athist Iraq

[Ireland]

Criminal Investigation Department

[Italy]

Organizzazione di Vigilanza Repressione dell'Antifascismo, active in Fascist Italy and the Italian Social Republic under the rule of Benito Mussolini

[Japan]

Tokubetsu Kōtō Keisatsu
Kempeitai, secret military police of the Imperial Army, later the army and navy
Tokubetsu Keisatsutai, secret military police of the Imperial Navy, duties later assumed by the Kenpeitai

[Mexico]

Dirección Federal de Seguridad
División de Investigaciones para la Prevención de la Delincuencia

[Mongolia]

Dotood Yam, active in the Mongolian People's Republic

[Mozambique]

National Service of Popular Security

[Nicaragua]

Dirección General de Seguridad del Estado
Ministerio de Seguridad Interior

[Nigeria]

Nigerian Security Organization

[Ottoman Empire]

Teşkilât-ı Mahsusa

[Paraguay]

Pyraguës
División Técnica de Represión del Comunismo, active during the El Stronato period, the single-party military dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner
Departamento de Investigaciones de la Policía, active during the El Stronato period, the single-party military dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner

[Peru]

Seguridad del Estado

[Philippines]

Metrocom Intelligence and Security Group, active during the rule of Ferdinand Marcos
National Intelligence and Security Authority or NISA, active during the rule of Ferdinand Marcos. Headed by Marcos' trusted military man, General Fabian Ver, who was also the commander of presidential security and in 1981, was appointed as chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

[Poland]

Urząd Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego – Office of Public Safety, active in the Polish People's Republic
Służba Bezpieczeństwa, active in the Polish People's Republic

[Portugal]

Polícia Preventiva : 1918–1919, active in the First Portuguese Republic
Polícia de Segurança do Estado : 1919, active in the First Portuguese Republic
Polícia de Defesa Social : 1919–1926, active in the First Portuguese Republic
Polícia de Informações : 1926–1931, active during the Ditadura Nacional period
Polícia de Vigilância Política e Social : 1933, active during the Ditadura Nacional period
Polícia de Vigilância e de Defesa do Estado : 1933–1945, active during the Estado Novo regime under the rule of António de Oliveira Salazar
Polícia Internacional e de Defesa do Estado – PIDE : 1945–1968, active during the Estado Novo regime under the rule of António de Oliveira Salazar
Direcção-Geral de Segurança : 1968–1974, active during the Estado Novo regime under the rule of Marcelo Caetano

[Republic of China] (Taiwan)

Taiwan Garrison Command

[Roman Empire]

Agentes in rebus
Frumentarii
Cohors Praetoria – An ancient Roman institution in charge of the Roman emperor's safety.

[Romania]

Direcția Poliției și Siguranței Generale, active in the Kingdom of Romania
Departamentul Securităţii statului, active in Bolshevik Romania

Russian monarchy">Tsarist autocracy">Russian monarchy

[Rwanda]

Service Central de Renseignements

[El Salvador]

Organización Democrática Nacionalista
Frente Democrático Nacionalista

[Singapore]

Special Branch

[Somalia]

National Security Service, active in the Somali Democratic Republic
Hangash, active in the Somali Democratic Republic
Victory Pioneers, active in the Somali Democratic Republic
Dhabar Jabinta, active in the Somali Democratic Republic
Red Berets, active in the Somali Democratic Republic

[South Africa]

Republican Intelligence, active during the Apartheid era
Bureau of State Security, active during the Apartheid era

[Soviet Union]

[Spain]

Servicio de Información Militar, active in the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil WarBrigada Político-Social / Brigada de Investigación Social, active in Francoist Spain
Servicio Central de Documentación
''Servicio de Inteligencia de la Guardia Civil''

Syria">Ba'athist Syria">Syria

National Security Bureau

[Uganda]

Public Safety Unit
State Research Bureau

[United States]

Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission, largely confined to the State of Mississippi to resist desegregations.

[Uruguay]

Organismo Coordinador de Actividades Anti-Subversivas

[Venezuela]

Dirección de Seguridad Nacional

[South Vietnam]

Social and Political Research Service

[Yugoslavia]

Department for People's Protection, active in Democratic Federal Yugoslavia
State Security Administration, active in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Counterintelligence Service
State Security Service, active in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
Security Administration

[Zaire]

Centre Nationale de Documentation – 1969-early 1980s
Agence Nationale de Documentation – Early 1980s – August 1990
''Service National d'Intelligence et de Protection''