Research Assistance Intervention Dissuasion

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Research, Assistance, Intervention, dissuasion ( RAID ; German  search, support, intervention, deterrence ) is a special unit of the French Police nationale to combat terrorism. The RAID is subordinate to the Direction Générale de la Police nationale , it was founded in 1985 in response to a series of bomb attacks. A special feature of the RAID is the fact that not only police officers, but people from all areas can apply to it.

A similar unit in the Police nationale is the Groupes d'intervention de la Police nationale (GIPN). The GIPN units in France were transferred to the RAID.

The counterpart of the Gendarmerie nationale is the Groupe d'intervention de la gendarmerie nationale (GIGN).

tasks

The RAID is responsible for the safety in the Eurotunnel , of nuclear power plants , for use in the case of aircraft hijackings and crimes against trains and other important public institutions. It also takes on the protection of official foreign visitors.

structure

The RAID has a strength of about 300 men. These are divided into three departments:

  • The first department has the tasks of every other special unit, such as intervening against violent criminals and monitoring and protecting other people.
  • The second department is responsible for developing and researching new techniques and gathering information. It consists of the three groups of reconnaissance, technology and weapons.
  • The third department is responsible for the psychological support of the missions, such as conducting negotiations. She also performs police psychological tasks for the entire Police nationale. The negotiation group is on standby and also takes on, for example, suicide threats, mental crises, the mentally ill and hostage-taking. It also works independently of the other units of the RAID. It assesses the situation, proposes solutions and then tries to resolve the situation through negotiations. When a raid deployment group is used, it is also used for clarification. It is made up of psychologists and doctors.

Calls

In 1987 the RAID arrested the leaders of the radical left terrorist organization Action directe .

The first mission that became known to the general public was on May 13, 1993, when the mentally confused Érick Schmitt brought 21 children into his power in a kindergarten in Neuilly-sur-Seine . He called himself "HB" (from English " Human Bomb ") and carried a large amount of explosives. When the hostage-taker fell asleep after 46 hours, members of the RAID broke into the school and freed the remaining six hostages. The perpetrator was killed while trying to reach the explosives. The students, a teacher and a nanny were unharmed.

The RAID was also used against terrorists by the Groupe Islamique Armé (GIA); also when the Corsican terrorist Yvan Colonna was arrested in 2003. In 1998 he carried out an attack on the Prefect of Corsica.

The RAID was also used in demonstrations in 2005 and 2006 and in a hostage-taking in Versailles. In this operation, the perpetrator was killed after attacking the officers.

During access in connection with the murder attacks in Toulouse in the spring of 2012 , members of the RAID surrounded the home of one of the suspects in the early morning of March 21, 2012. Around noon on March 22, 2012, members of the special forces broke into his home. The man was killed and two members of the unit injured in an exchange of fire. The raid's approach was later criticized by Christian Prouteau, the police officer responsible for setting up the GIGN special unit in 1973 . The action took place "without a precise tactical scheme". A former member of the RAID also criticized the tactics. A former RAID instructor, Bruno Pomart, denied the allegations.

RAID was also deployed after the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo's editorial office on January 7, 2015 in Paris . The RAID stormed a kosher supermarket at Porte de Vincennes on January 9, 2015 , where terrorist Coulibaly had taken several hostages. When the police tried to break into the supermarket, the elite police positioned themselves on either side of a gate that was opened. When the gate was open, Coulibaly ran between the surprised police officers and suffered 60 hits in the crossfire of the special forces, which also injured three police officers involved. He himself died on the street. The scene was filmed by a local resident and posted on the Internet.

The RAID was also used in the terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13, 2015, among other things in connection with a hostage-taking in the Bataclan concert hall.

On December 28, 2016, the French police announced that the RAID forces had been deployed against two suspects in Toulouse and at the same time against a man in nearby Cugnaux ; all those arrested are said to have prepared attacks for New Year's Day 2017.

Individual evidence

  1. Assassin dies after a gun battle with police officers. In: spiegel.de. March 22, 2012. Retrieved March 22, 2012 .
  2. Stefan Simons: What did the white emir know? In: spiegel.de. March 23, 2012, accessed April 13, 2012 .
  3. Louise Cuneo, Aziz Zemouri: Bruno Pomart (Raid): "Les propos de Prouteau sont scandaleux". In: Le Point.fr. March 24, 2012, accessed April 13, 2012 (French).
  4. Ibtimes
  5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HDWegZAMj0
  6. Lutte anti-terrorist. Trois hommes arrêtés par le RAID. At La Dépêche du Midi , December 28, 2016.