Unité Speciale de la Police

The Unité Spéciale de la Police ( USP ) is the special unit of the police in Luxembourg . It forms one of the six national police units ( Services centraux ). The USP's commander is currently First Division Commissioner Christian Krettels.

history

The first special unit in Luxembourg, the Brigade Mobile de la Gendarmerie Grand-Ducale (BMG for short), was founded in 1978 within the Gendarmerie Grand-Ducale . Many countries in Europe, such as For example, Germany or France had already formed special police units in response to the terrorist attack at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich . The BMG was assigned several tasks, including the fight against terrorism , the fight against organized crime , the protection of the grand ducal family and other prominent people within Luxembourg. During the 1980s, the now eight BMG officers , the service dog handlers , the USBV defuser and the observation unit of the Gendarmerie Grand-Ducale formed the Groupe Mobile de la Gendarmerie (GMG for short).

In 1986 a special content was also set up within the Luxembourg police force. This Groupe d'Intervention de la Police (GIP for short) was responsible, among other things, for the liberation of hostages and the arrest of particularly dangerous perpetrators. During the 1990s, the ten GIP officers, the service dog handlers and the riflemen of the police formed the Groupement spécial de la Police (GSP for short).

After the merger of the police and the Gendarmerie Grand-Ducale to form the Police Grand-Ducale in 2000, the BMG and the GIP merged into the Unité Spéciale de la Police .

tasks

USP officials are trained in counterterrorism , hostage rescue, and access . In addition, the USP includes several IED defusers, sniper marksmen, demolition experts , observation experts and negotiators. The USP is used both preventively (e.g. to protect celebrities or during observation) and operationally (at the request of the regular police).

Although much public attention is paid to hostage-taking , killing sprees , suicide attempts , kidnappings or extortion , only a very small part of the USP's operations. Most of the USP's operations consist of the execution of arrest warrants for particularly dangerous offenders, observation, protection of celebrities in dangerous situations, escorting dangerous transports of prisoners and protecting witnesses and property .

Recruitment and training

The members of the USP are specially trained and intensively trained police officers. The USP only uses police officers who have already been employed in the regular police service for several years. The applicants must be younger than 30 years old and not only have an exceptionally good physical condition, but also have strong character, high social skills, judgment and stress tolerance.

After passing the medical certificate and the permission of the Directeur général de la Police , the entrance test, which mainly consists of physical and psychological tests, takes place. As a rule, only a small number of candidates pass this entrance test. After passing the test, there is a six-month basic training course in which the trainees are prepared for access, observation, and personal and property protection. For this purpose, physical and mental resilience as well as self-defense , tactics , observation techniques , driving, climbing and comprehensive shooting skills are trained. As a rule, around a third drop out of basic training early.

Calls

The USP carries out a total of between 250 and 300 assignments per year. The best known case of the USP occurred in 2000 in Wasserbillig . A Tunisian stormed a kindergarten and armed with a handgun , a hand grenade and a stabbing weapon, took 3 educators and 45 children hostage. The USP officials disguised themselves as reporters and put the perpetrator out of action with a targeted shot in the head, which he survived.

organization

The USP officers are divided into four different groups:

1. The Sections tactiques (STAC for short), divided into
   1. STAC 1 for simple observation and access
   2. STAC 2 and STAC 3 for heavy and particularly dangerous observation and access.
2. The Groupes d'appui technique opérationnel (GATO for short), divided into
   1. GATO 1 for penetration techniques
   2. GATO 2 audio and video observation.
   3. GATO 3 for USBV defuses.
3. The Section des Négociateurs , i.e. the negotiators for hostage-taking, suicide attempts, etc.
4. The Section des tireurs d'élite (STE for short), i.e. the precision shooters .

equipment

The USP officers use the following weapons, among others, depending on the situation:

• Assault rifles:
  • Heckler & Koch MP5
  • Heckler & Koch 53
  • FN Herstal P90
  • Steyr AUG
• Pistols:
  • SIG Sauer P226 and SIG Sauer P228
  • Glock 17 and Glock 26
  • Heckler & Koch USP
  • Heckler & Koch P7M13
  • Smith & Wesson Model 669
• Sniper rifles:
  • Brugger & Thomet APR
  • DSR-precision DSR 1
  • Heckler & Koch PSG1
• Other:
  • Benelli M3
  • FN Herstal Minimi
  • Heckler & Koch MZP
  • Taser X26
  • Fn Herstal 303

literature

• L'unité spéciale de la police luxembourgeoise. In: Raids. 238, March 2006, ISSN  0769-4814 , pp. 46-55.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Special unit USP: "Decisions in a split second" In: Luxemburger Wort , April 22, 2013, accessed on July 16, 2018.
2. ^ Police grand-ducale. - nomination. Official Journal of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, accessed on July 16, 2018.
3. ↑ Steve Remesch: The die has been cast . (PDF) The future organization chart of the Police Grand-Ducale at a glance. In: Luxemburger Wort. March 17, 2017, p. 19 , accessed July 16, 2018 . 
4. ↑ Police Grand-Ducale: Unitées Spéciales de la Police - Historique ( Memento of February 20, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
5. ↑ usp.lu: Missions ( Memento of February 27, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
6. ↑ usp.lu: Recrutement ( Memento from April 22, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
7. ↑ Wort.lu: Unité spéciale de la police: près de 300 missions par an
8. ↑ organizational charts. In: usp.lu. Archived from the original on April 22, 2012 ; accessed on April 23, 2018 . 
9. ↑ Equipment. Archived from the original on August 13, 2013 ; accessed on April 23, 2018 (French).