Police Officers From Around The World

1. Hello Kitty for Thai Police

Image source / AlamyYou’d think that it was the job of the police to lay down the law. Although that is true in Thailand, the police also have to follow strict rules. If broken, the punishments are pretty funny. Male police officers found to be breaking the very laws they are enforcing (such as illegal parking and littering) have to wear a large, bright pink Hello Kitty band around their arms. That’s one embarrassing Monday morning!

2. China’s torture

Image source / International Business TimesWhat would you expect of the police from an authoritarian country like China? Corrupt, brutal? Afraid so. In fact, Chinese police regularly use torture to gain suspect confessions. The ‘Chengguan’ are the worst offenders, these officers deal with the low-level crimes and have been responsible for multiple deaths due to their forceful handling. In one incident, they beat a man to death when he filmed a fight between villagers and officials. Scary stuff!

3. Cuba - great cigars, great police!

Image source / BBCRenowned for its ‘lost in time’ appearance, Cuban policing is far from outdated. In fact, Cuba has one of the lowest crime rates in the world and the Cuban police are hailed as being amazing, especially so in the city’s capital of Havana. The murder stats for Cuba are 4.6 per 100,000 which apparently is pretty good going for the Caribbean. So where in the Caribbean is the murder rate the highest? Let’s see…

4. Jamaica - enter at your peril

Image source / GuardianJamaica has one of of the highest homicide rates in the world at a staggering 45 per 100,000 people. That’s 10X more dangerous than Cuba despite being one of its closest neighbors. Gang crime is rife and the police force is corrupt - what more can you expect! Planning a trip to the Caribbean? Would you take the risk?

5. Moustaches for Indian police!

Image source / Indiatimes.comIn Madhya Pradesh, India, any officer who grows a moustache gets a pay rise! Seems pretty funny to me but apparently it’s because a tash in India is considered a sign of respect and authority. Let’s all spare a moment for the follically challenged cops in India! Now to another place famous for strict haircuts - North Korea…

6. North Korea

Image source / Coindesk.comWe couldn’t look at police forces around the world without sparing a thought for this totalitarian state. No doubt Kim Jong-un would have us believe that his officers are the best in the world but that’s far from the truth. Not only have officers been known to use brutal force, the North Korean prisons are some of the harshest in the world with inmates regularly dying of starvation. Be grateful for where you live folks.

7. No guns for British cops

Image source / PinterestDespite the UK being densely packed - squeezing nearly 70  million people into an island the size of a few states - the police don’t carry firearms. With anti-gun laws in force across the country it kind of makes sense the police wouldn’t have them either. What’s your opinion on police carrying guns?

8. USA. Guns? Yes. Random arrests? No.

Image source / MintpressnewsUnlike the UK and Iceland, US police routinely carry firearms (we’ll leave the Second Amendment debate out but yeah, if we’re allowed guns it goes that the police will need them too). How else do we differ from the UK? Our officers are not allowed to just arrest people without a valid reason. In the UK, people can be detained for simply acting suspiciously!

9. Belgian police - the best trained in the world?

Image source / ABCAs a European force, it’s not a shock to hear that the Belgium police are pretty well organized. That may even be an understatement - their officers have to attend specialized academies to train and revisit these regularly for revision courses. They’re pretty pro when it comes to weapons too, using not only machine and sniper rifles but grenade launchers too! Now to the US, where training is a little…lighter…

10. USA cops - trained in a flash

Image source / CNNAccording to data from the Department of Justice, basic US police training takes an average of 840 hours, or 21 weeks. There’s an additional 521 hours (13 weeks) of field training which takes the total US police training to about 34 weeks, or nine months. That seems pretty quick if you ask me although I guess there’s no better way than to learn by getting stuck in. Despite the rapid training, you may be surprised at the IQ of an average US police officer…

11. US police - a brainy bunch!

Image source / Shropshire starDid you know that the National Police Foundation reports that about one-third (30.2 percent) of American police officers have a four-year degree, while more than half (51.8 percent) have a two-year degree. You may want to think twice before arguing your rights with this lot, they seem to know their stuff! Thinking of training to become an officer? You’d better be young…

12. US police selection requirements

Image source / The American ProspectSo what do you actually need to become a US police officer? Well, firstly you have to have citizenship - which seems fair enough. Beyond that, you need a high school diploma, at a minimum. The most shocking requirement though is age - you have to be over 21 (ok) but no older than 39! That seems a little unfair to me. I know some seriously fit 50 year olds whose life experience would be an asset to the police. What do you think? Is it fair to put an age limit on it?

13. Dune buggies for border patrol

Image source / PinterestOk so you’ve got your citizenship, high-school diploma and are under 39. Great, you can join! And when you pass that 9 month training you may be invited to specialize. Choose to patrol the US-Mexico border and you’ll be driving around in a 200-horsepower Volkswagen dune buggy. Designed to allow plenty of clearance over the rough terrain. Welcome to the USA! Now to the most glamorous police cars in the world…

14. The world’s most luxurious police convoy

Image source / PinterestDubai is well-known for oozing wealth so it's no surprise that its police force is just the same. I guess when you’re chasing sports cars you need sports cars and my goodness do they have sports cars! Bugatti, McLaren, Bentley and Lamborghini are just some of the makes of UAE police cars.

15. Batons and pepper spray for Icelandic police

Image source / The Reykjavik GrapevineLike the Brits, the police force in Iceland don’t carry firearms. In fact, officers there use just two deterrent measures - batons and ‘MK-4 OC’ aka pepper spray. Pepper spray doesn’t freeze so it’s the perfect choice for the Icelandic climate. With one of the lowest crime rates in the world the lack of guns makes sense. I guess everyone is too busy admiring the Northern Lights to think about robbery!

16. The Icelandic police may not have guns but the people do!

Image source / The Reykjavik GrapevineIceland is unique when it comes to guns. As we’ve heard, the police don’t carry them but weirdly, many citizens do. In countries that allow guns there’s usually a ton of crime but apparently not in Iceland. Why? Hard to say, but unlike the US, the citizens there have to undertake rigorous tests before owning one so maybe that’s got something to do with it?

17. The Hoover Dam had its own police force

Image source / US Department of the InteriorEstablished way back in 1930, the Hoover Dam Police Department covered 22 miles of land surrounding the dam. They worked to stop terrorists, help visitors, prevent fires and catch criminals. I’m getting a park ranger-police hybrid vibe and I like it! Sadly though, this special unit was recently closed down with the National Park Service rangers taking over their role. Gutted! If you thought that was odd, imagine a museum with its own force. Well, imagine no more…!

18. The museum detectives…

Image source / VisitorThe Smithsonian is up there with the most famous museums in the world. With such an impressive and expensive collection of treasures it makes sense that it would be guarded by police but did you know it has its own police agency? The Office of Protection Services is known by some as the museum squad! They cover many museums including the Smithsonian and their duties include night watches just like Ben Stiller in “Night at the Museum”!

19. The legendary Junglas of Colombia

Image source / Daily MailIt doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that crime and Colombia go hand in hand. The nation is well-known for it’s criminal activity and cocaine manufacture but that doesn’t stop one fearsome force from operating there. Getting their name from the Colombian jungles where they operate, the ‘Junglas’ keep peace between coke barons and FARC guerrilla fighters. Founded in 1989, they were initially trained by the US Special Forces and the British SAS which explains why they are so impressive.

20. Myanmar - where you must pay for your innocence

Image source / BBCHardly known for its glowing human rights record, Myanmar (formerly Burma) has some seriously dodgy police. Not only are they corrupt, scamming money from innocent citizens, they actually charge people to carry out an investigation. So say you had your stuff stolen, to get it back and catch the criminal you’d first have to pay the police. Seems messed up to me.

21. In Mexico, the people rule the police

Image source / The IndependentIt may seem common sense but having enough police officers is pretty essential for managing crime. In Mexico this is far from the case where there are just over 300 officers for every 100,000 people! To make matters worse, the few police that do exist are underpaid and not well-trained. Ok, so how do they get around having so few police?

22. Mexican militias

Image source / NBC NewsAs we heard, Mexico doesn’t have enough police, nowhere near enough in fact. This may be fine in somewhere like Iceland where crime is so low but in Mexico the homicide rate has risen every year since 2014, eek! I present to you, the Mexican militias. This highly controversial policing method sees regular citizens given guns to join the police and patrol the streets. Funnily enough, this idea seems to have cottoned on elsewhere…

23. Israel - where citizens and police combine forces… literally

Image source / YnetnewsThe Israeli police do all the classic tasks - maintain public order, crackdown on drugs, road traffic control etc. And there’s a fairly impressive 35,000 of them. However, if you’re in Israel, you’re far more likely to spot a Civil Guard volunteer. These voluntary citizens give up their time (for free) to help the police and they outnumber them 2:1! Seems like they have it sorted - would you become a volunteer officer if given the chance? Now to a country with a police force that could definitely do with some revamping…

24. Crazy Kenyan corruption

Image source / The GuardianSadly, police corruption is pretty commonplace the world over but if you were to look for a winner, Kenya would be up there. The citizens themselves regularly speak out about their negative experiences despite the risk this could pose them. From bribery and beatings to beheadings the police are a long way from maintaining law and order. Thankfully, reforms are beginning to be put in place.

25. New Zealand - a carbon copy of Britain?

Image source / Good news networkDid you know that when establishing their police force, New Zealand looked to a distant neighbor for inspiration - the British police. Known for their long track record of impressive and world-leading policing, the British police were an obvious choice. What’s funny is how similar the kiwis’ uniform is to that of their British pals. Surely they could have been more original there!?

26. How one terrorist event created a force to be reckoned with…

Image source / Armed FiguresDuring the 1972 Olympics Games 11 Israeli athletes were killed by terrorists and the German police’s terrible response was hard to ignore. This led to the formation of GSG 9 - now considered one of the most professional and famous police forces in the world. Entry is tough - officers need at least 2 years under their belt before undergoing rigorous medical and psychological training. Only 1 in 5 make the cut. But are they a match for the British SAS?

27. SAS of Britain

Image source / Daily ExpressThe SAS aka Special Air Service is Britain’s toughest and most elite group of fighters and the selection process is eye-watering. From 80km marches over rough terrain with no sleep to phycological tests like listening to the sound of babies crying for hours on end, only the very toughest make the grade. The notoriety around the British SAS is so big that there’s even a special TV show dedicated to their training - where civilians battle it out to try and win a place in the prestigious team.

28. BOPE of Brazil

Image source / South China Morning PostAnother famous and highly trained police force, this time in Brazil. The BOPE patrol the city’s sprawling shanty towns and rule with force. Their uniforms and masks are all black making their appearance pretty threatening. Like the British SAS, their training is crazy - they have to stay awake for 3 days on a fake mission to join the team.

29. The Special Task Force of Sri Lanka

Image source / RedditIn Sri Lanka there’s a unique issue - the Tamil Tigers are a separatist guerrilla movement who cause havoc across the country. And so the ‘Special Task Force’ was formed. The Tamil Tigers presence has reduced over the years meaning the Special Task Force now helps out with less intense jobs, such as helping the Chinese authorities for preparing the Beijing Olympics, cute!

30. From fierce to friendly

Image source / Sitka Radio StationEveryone knows Canadians are gentle and polite - it’s a bit of a cliche really! The policing method there reflects this soft approach with ‘restorative justice’ the go-to option for solving crime. This method connects victims with criminals and allows for a collaborative discussion about what should happen next. Sounds a bit too fluffy if you ask me, what do you think?