Military Police - Spain

Spain

Civil Guard (in Spanish Guardia Civil) is the equivalent to the gendarmerie in Spain. Despite their name, they are not civilians but military and subjected to military discipline. Their main and historical role is as rural police in rural areas. Nowadays they are also in charge of counter terrorism, road traffic control out of the cities, coast guards and customs, search and rescue and at sea and in the mountains and the security of the Spanish Prime Minister and the Government. They have jurisdiction in all the Spanish territory and over the civilian population. Therefore they are comparable to French Gendarmerie or Italian Carabinieri.

Besides the Guardia Civil, each branch of the Spanish Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force) has it own military police (Policia Militar, Policia Naval y Policia Aerea respectively). They are only recognised as constabularies with jurisdiction over the military installations and military personnel. They have no jurisdiction over civilians out of the military installations. They are also in charge of the security of the military installations, play a role as bodyguards of the Generals, Admirals and other relevant military personnel, provide security services to military transports and police the military personnel abroad.