Police Rapid Response Unit (Finland)

The Police Special Intervention Unit (SIU) (Finnish: poliisin Valmiusyksikkö Karhu; Swedish: polisens beredskapsenhet) is a national police tactical unit in the Helsinki Police Department of the Police of Finland. It is commonly known as the Bear Squad (Finnish: Karhu-ryhmä).

Special Intervention Unit
Poliisin Valmiusyksikkö Karhu (Finnish)
Polisens beredskapsenhet (Swedish)
Active1972 – present[1]
Country Finland
AgencyHelsinki Police Department
TypePolice tactical unit
Role
Operations jurisdictionNational
HeadquartersHelsinki
Common name
Structure
OfficersApprox. 60 (2011)[2]
Equipment
Animals4 police dogs (2011)[2]

Function

The Police Special Intervention Unit was formed as a national police tactical unit in the spring of 1972. It provided security for the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, held in Helsinki in 1975. According to Finnish law, all counter-terrorist operations are within the jurisdiction of the Police. In addition to operative units, the group includes sniper, technical support, police dog, and bomb disposal teams. It can be reinforced with a negotiation team during hostage situations. The Karhu Unit operates under the authority of the Helsinki Police Department and, in turn, the National Police Board and the Ministry of the Interior. Team members are selected from currently serving law enforcement personnel and undergo a training of one year, followed by a continuous on-the-job training programme. They alternate between normal field work, training and special operations duties: Training takes approximately half and special operations 1⁄10 of their time while the rest consists of regular duties. The team had a strength of around 60 officers and 4 police dogs in 2011.[3][2]

See also

References
  1. Laakso, Silva (30 March 2018). "Näin toimivat Suomen poliisin erikoisjoukot – kun poliisilla on edessä pahin mahdollinen tilanne, paikalle hälytetään Karhu-ryhmä". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  2. "Karhu-ryhmän poliisi pitää työnsä salassa suvultaankin" [An officer of the Bear Squad keeps his work hidden even from family]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 2011-09-25. Archived from the original on 2018-02-04. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
  3. "Näin toimii poliisin mystinen Karhu-ryhmä" [This is how the mystical Bear Squad works]. MTV3 (in Finnish). 2011-04-25. Archived from the original on 2018-02-04. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
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