Special Branch
Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and intelligence in British, 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 the State from perceived threats of subversion, particularly terrorism and other extremist political activity.
The first Special Branch, or Special Irish Branch, as it was then known, was a unit of London's Metropolitan Police formed in March 1883 to combat the Irish Republican Brotherhood. The name became Special Branch as the unit's remit widened to include more than just Irish Republican-related counterespionage.
Australia
Most state police forces and the federal police had a Special Branch. They were tasked mainly with monitoring the Communist Party of Australia and related political groups regarded as extremist or subversive. They also focused on German and Japanese activity during World War II.- The Commonwealth Police Force was formed in 1917 as "a form of federal special branch" under the War Precautions Act 1914. It was disbanded in 1919.
- The Commonwealth Police Special Branch was established in 1957. It was absorbed into the Australian Federal Police in 1979.
- The Australian Federal Police Special Branch was renamed the Special Intelligence Branch in 1985 and merged into the Security Intelligence & Diplomatic Liaison Branch in 1995.
- The New South Wales Police Force Subversive Organisations Branch was formed in 1933. It was combined with the Commonwealth Police, Royal Australian Navy Police and Australian Army Police at the outbreak of World War II to form the Military/Police Intelligence Branch. The civilian component was formed back into the Police Subversive Organisations Branch in 1946, which was renamed Special Branch in 1948. The Royal Commission into the New South Wales Police Service found Special Branch was gathering information on people who posed no threat of politically motivated violence, and as a result it was disbanded in 1997.
- The Queensland Police Special Bureau was formed on 30 July 1940 and renamed Special Branch on 7 April 1948. It has been criticised for being used for political purposes by the Bjelke-Petersen government in the 1970s and 1980s, such as enforcing laws against protests and investigating and harassing political opponents. It was disbanded in 1989 following a recommendation by the Fitzgerald Inquiry into police corruption. The Special Branch destroyed its records before Fitzgerald could subpoena them.
- South Australia Police formed an Intelligence Branch at the outbreak of World War II in 1939, which was disbanded in 1945. A Subversive Section was established in 1947 and renamed Special Branch in 1949. It amassed files on Australian Labor Party politicians, church leaders, trade unionists and so-called "pink files" on gay community activists at a time when homosexuality was still illegal. The South Australia Police was deliberately vague about the existence of Special Branch. In 1970, Commissioner Harold Salisbury told Premier Don Dunstan that Special Branch did not exist. A 1977 inquiry by Justice White of the Supreme Court of South Australia confirmed the existence and found the files were "scandalously inaccurate, irrelevant to security purposes and outrageously unfair to hundreds, perhaps thousands, of loyal and worthy citizens". Dunstan sacked Salisbury for misleading Parliament about the existence of the "pink files". Special Branch was disbanded in 1984.
- The Victoria Police Special Branch was formed in 1931 and disbanded in 1983. Similar work in monitoring terrorism is conducted by the Security Intelligence Group, established in 2000.
Bahamas
Bangladesh
The Bangladeshi Special Branch is an intelligence agency of Bangladesh 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 the Bangladesh Police. The chief of the Special Branch has the rank of Additional Inspector General and reports directly to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.Belize
It is responsible for the internal affairs of the country and collecting intelligence on behalf of the security services.Brunei
The ISD was created to replace the Royal Brunei Police's Special Branch division, which was disbanded on August 1, 1993.Canada
The RCMP Security Service was a counterintelligence unit or "Special Branch" from 1950 to 1984. It was replaced by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.Fiji
The Special Branch unit of the Fiji 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 the Republic of Fiji Military Forces.The unit's name was changed to the Fiji Police Intelligence Bureau in 2009. 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." This was also done while the police force was being modernised.
Hong Kong
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 then Hong Kong Police by 1930. It was named the Political Department in Chinese. In 1933, the squad's English name became "Special Branch" while its Chinese name remained unchanged. In addition to anti-subversion operations, its role during its first two decades also included immigration, passport control and registration of persons.The division was disbanded in 1995, prior to the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997. Units of SB were reassigned under the Security Wing – Crime and Security.
India
The Special Branch is a separate wing in the state 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 the Intelligence Bureau, India's federal internal security agency. The nomenclature varies from state to state, such as State Special Branch, Special Branch CID, State Intelligence Department,etc.The Special Branch functions at the state level and is headed by a senior-ranked officer, the Additional Director General of Police. 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 Detective Constables, Head Constables, Inspector rankings and superior police officer rankings. Every police station is to have a Special Branch head constable or Assistant Sub-Inspector , 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 like cannabis plantation/transportation, illicit attacks, etc. They forward the information to the respective Superintendents of police for necessary action.