Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, and formerly a British crown colony. As such, it has never had any military force of its own, and defence have always been the responsibilities of the sovereign power. Currently, defence of the territory is the duty of the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison. Before 1997, it was the duty of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kong. Commonwealth forces were also deployed to station in the territory shortly before the Second World War.
Witness protection is protection of a threatened witness involved in the justice system, including defendants and other clients, before, during, and after a trial, usually by police. While a witness may only require protection until the conclusion of a trial, some witnesses are provided with a new identity and may live out the rest of their lives under government protection.
The Royal Air Force Police (RAFP) is the service police branch of the Royal Air Force, headed by the Provost Marshal of the Royal Air Force. Its headquarters are at RAF Honington and it deploys throughout the world to support RAF and UK defence missions.
The Special Tactics and Rescue, or STAR, is an elite tactical unit of the Singapore Police Force. Its official task is to provide the SPF with a tactical armed-response capability, and its motto is "Vigilance, Valour, Victory".
The Special Duties Unit is the elite tactical unit of the Hong Kong Police Force tasked with countering terrorist attacks, hostage rescue, underwater search and recovery, and tackling serious crime involving firearms. The SDU is a subdivision of the Police Tactical Unit which is part of 'A' Department. The SDU is based at the Police Tactical Unit Headquarters in Fanling.
The Nucleo Operativo Centrale di Sicurezza(NOCS) is the police tactical unit of the Polizia di Stato, one of Italy's national police forces. It operates under the command of the Direzione Centrale della Polizia di Prevenzione.
An authorised firearms officer (AFO) is a British police officer who has received training, and is authorised, to carry and use firearms. The designation is significant because in the United Kingdom most police officers do not routinely carry firearms, although they can be equipped with tasers. The only forces where officers are routinely armed are the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the Ministry of Defence Police, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, Belfast Harbour Police and the Belfast International Airport Constabulary.
The Commissioner of Police heads the Hong Kong Police Force and reports to the Secretary for Security.
A firearms unit is an armed unit within each territorial police force in the United Kingdom. For the most part, the police forces of the United Kingdom are unarmed; however, all have firearms units to provide the police force with the capability to deal with terrorists and armed criminals. A police officer cannot apply to join the firearms unit without first finishing their two-year probationary period, with a further two years in a core policing role for some forces. Firearms unit is the most common name outside of the capital, while that of London's Metropolitan Police Service is called the Specialist Firearms Command, Trojan or SC&O19. Within the media it is sometimes compared to the SWAT units of the United States.
Spezialeinsatzkommandos are police tactical units of each of the 16 German State Police forces. With the Mobile Operational Units (MEKs) and the Negotiation Teams they are part of the police Special Forces of each state.
The State Protection Group (SPG) is part of the Specialist Operations division of the New South Wales Police Force, having been established in 1991 to deal with extraordinary policing responses. The SPG directly supports police in high-risk incidents such as sieges with specialised tactical, negotiation, intelligence and command-support services. The unit also provides rescue and bomb disposal support, canine policing, and armoury services.
The Brigade Speciale Beveiligingsopdrachten or BSB is a special operations unit of the Koninklijke Marechaussee, the Dutch gendarmerie corps. Although the BSB conducts special operations it is not a part of the, in 2018 established, Netherlands Special Operations Command.
The Police Tactical Unit is a unit within the Hong Kong Police Force which provides an immediate manpower reserve for use in large-scale emergencies. Unit companies are attached to all land Regions and are available for internal security, crowd control, anti-crime operations, disaster response and riot control throughout Hong Kong. The PTU is often referred as the 'Blue Berets', which is in reference to the blue berets worn as part of the uniform. The PTU base and training camp is located in Fanling.
A Police Support Unit or PSU is a unit of police officers who have undergone specialist tactical training in Public Order and Riot Control.
The Special Tactics Group (STG) is the full-time Police Tactical Unit of the New Zealand Police and is designated a Police tactical group by the Australia-New Zealand Counter-Terrorism Committee (ANZCTC). The STG, originally named the Anti-Terrorist Squad, was established to respond to high-risk situations which are beyond the scope or capacity of everyday policing. STG officers directly support operational police in incidents, such as sieges, with specialist tactical, negotiation, intelligence and command support services.
SWAT is an elite tactical unit of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, Bangladesh. They operate under the Detective Branch of DMP. Eventually, the newly formed DMP unit SWAT is going to be expanded outwards forming one or more battalions. The force would remain as a part of the police force.
The Special Security and Protection Battalion (SPBn) is a branch of the Bangladesh Police. The battalion is raised as a specialized police unit to provide protection to the President of Bangladesh, Prime Minister of Bangladesh, and any person designated as VIP by the Government including visiting foreign dignitaries. It is also responsible for the security of VIPs’ offices and residences and venues of programs. It works alongside Special Security Force, Special Branch, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) and President Guard Regiment.
Steve Hui Chun-Tak is the former Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Hong Kong Police Force. Hui became well known during the 2014 Occupy campaign, when he started to give daily televised updates from 30 September 2014 as Chief Superintendent of Police. Hui's polite and friendly style of presentation was well received by the public and was liked by many including the protestors. A Facebook page '四點鐘許sir' created by a netizen on 8 October 2014 received more than 50,000 followers within a week.
