List of historical secret police organizations
Wikimedia list article
This is a list of historical secret police organizations. In most cases they are no longer current because the regime that ran them was overthrown or changed, or they changed their names. Few still exist under the same name as legitimate police forces.
Agencies by country
Afghanistan
Khedamat-e Etelea'at-e Dawlati (KHAD) (Government Intelligence Service), active in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
WAD
Albania
Sigurimi (Directorate of State Security), active in the People's Socialist Republic of Albania
Algeria
Département du Renseignement et de la Sécurité (Department of Intelligence and Security)
Angola
Directorate of Information and Security of Angola (Direcção de Informação e Segurança de Angola) (DISA), active in the People's Republic of Angola
Argentina
Sección Especial de Represión al Comunismo (SERC) (Special Section for the Repression of Communism)
División de Información Política Antidemocrática (DIPA) (Political Anti-democratic Information Division)
Secretariat of Intelligence (SIDE)
Austria
Geheime Staatspolizei (Secret State Police), active in the Austrian Empire
Bangladesh
Jatiya Rakkhi Bahini (JRB) (National Defense Force) was a Bangladeshi para-military force formed in 1972 by the Sheikh Mujibur Rahman government.
Initially formed to curb the insurgency and maintain law and order the force became involved in numerous charges of human rights abuse including political killings, shooting by death squads, and rape. It was seen as the armed wing of the ruling Awami League and it swore an oath of loyalty to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The Force was disbanded and merged with the Bangladesh Army following the August 15th 1975 coup which dislodged Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from power.
Bolivia
Servicio Especial de Seguridad (SES) (Special Security Service)
Brazil
4th Auxiliary Police Bureau
Departamento de Ordem Política e Social (DOPS) (Department of Political and Social Order), active during the Estado Novo (1937-1946) and the military dictatorship (1964–1985)
Departamento de Operações Internas-Centro de Operações de Defesa Interna (DOI-CODI) (Internal Operations Department-Centre for Internal Defence Operations), active during the military dictatorship (1964–1985)
Bulgaria
Komitet za dǎržavna sigurnost (KDS) (The Committee for State Security), most commonly referred to as the State Security, or DS, active in the People's Republic of Bulgaria
Cambodia
Santebal – secret police during the Khmer Rouge period
Cameroon
Centre National d'Étude et de Recherche (National Centre for Study and Research)
Central African Republic
Force spéciale de défense des institutions républicaines (FORSIDIR) (The Presidential Lifeguard)
Unité de sécurité présidentielle (USP) (Presidential Security Organisation – acted as the main secret organisation before and after FORSIDIR)
Office central de répression du banditisme (OCRB) (Central Office of Banditry Repression)
Chad
Direction de la Documentation et de la Sécurité (DDS) (Directorate of Documentation and Security)
Chile
Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional (DINA) (National Intelligence Directorate), active during the regime of Augusto Pinochet
Central Nacional de Informaciones (CNI) (National Information Centre), active during the regime of Augusto Pinochet
China
Jinyiwei (Ming Dynasty) (1368–1661)
Eastern Depot (Ming Dynasty) (1420-1644)
Western Depot (Ming Dynasty) (1477-1482, 1508-1510)
Internal Depot (Ming Dynasty) (1508-1510)
Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (Republic of China) (1938–1946)
Colombia
Administrative Department of Security Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad (DAS) (1960–2011)
Congo, People's Republic of
General Directorate for State Security (French: Direction Générale de la Sécurité de l'État)
Croatia, Independent State of
Ravnateljstvo za javni red i sigurnost (RAVSIGUR) (Directorate for Public Order and Security) / Glavno ravnateljstvo za javni red i sigurnost (GRAVSIGUR) (General Directorate for Public Order and Security)
Ustaška nadzorna služba (UNS) (Ustaše Surveillance Service)
Cuba
Bureau for the Repression of Communist Activities (Batista government)
Czechoslovakia
Státní bezpečnost / Štátna bezpečnosť (StB / ŠtB) (State Security), active in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
Dominican Republic
Servicio Inteligencia Militar (SIM) – Military Intelligence Service under Rafael Trujillo
Egypt
State Security Investigations Service (Mabahith Amn al-Dawla al-'Ulya)
Finland
Etsivä keskuspoliisi (EK) (1919–1937) (transl. "Detecting central police")
Valtiollinen poliisi (Valpo) (1937–1949) (transl. "State police")
Germany
Preußische Geheimpolizei (Prussian Secret Police) – active in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Confederation, the North German Confederation, the German Empire and the Weimar Republic; merged in the Gestapo
Geheime Staatspolizei (Gestapo) (Secret State Police) – active in Nazi Germany
Geheime Feldpolizei (Secret Field Police) – The Wehrmacht's version of the Gestapo
SS-Sicherheitsdienst (SS Security Service) – The intelligence agency of the Nazi Party and the SS
Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS or Stasi) (Ministry for State Security) – active in the German Democratic Republic during the Cold War
Greece
Organization for the Protection of the People's Struggle (OPLA)
National Civil Guard
People's Civil Guard
Greek Military Police, active as a secret police force during the Greek military junta
Guatemala
Cuerpo de Detectives (Detectives Corp)
Policía Judicial (Judicial Police)
Policía Militar Ambulate (PMA) (Mobile Military Police)
Guardia de Hacienda (Palace Guard)
Centro de Servicios Especiales de la Presidencia (Centre for Special Presidential Services)
Haiti
Service d'Information (SD) (Information Service)
Milice de Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale (MVSN) (Militia of National Security Volunteers, better known as the Tonton Macoutes), active during the Duvalier dynasty
Honduras
Departamento Nacional de Investigaciones (DNI) (National Investigation Department)
Hong Kong
Special Branch (British Hong Kong) (1934-1995)
Hungary
Államvédelmi Osztály (ÁVO) (State Protection Department)
Államvédelmi Hatóság (ÁVH) (State Protection Authority)
Indonesia
Komando Pemulihan Keamanan dan Ketertiban (Kopkamtib) (Security and Order Restoration Command), active during the regime of Suharto
Iran
Sazeman-i Ettelaat va Amniyat-i Keshvar (SAVAK) (National Organization for Intelligence and Security), active in the Imperial State of Iran
Iraq
Shurta (The Shurṭa), secret police of the Abbasid caliphs active during the Abbasid Empire
Jihaz Al-Mukhabarat Al-A'ma (Mukhabarat) (Iraqi Intelligence Service), active in Ba'athist Iraq
Ireland
Criminal Investigation Department (CID)
Italy
Organizzazione di Vigilanza Repressione dell'Antifascismo (OVRA) (Organization for Vigilance and Repression of Anti-Fascism), active in Fascist Italy and the Italian Social Republic under the rule of Benito Mussolini
Japan
Tokubetsu Kōtō Keisatsu (Tokkō) (Special Higher Police)
Kempeitai (Military Police Corps), secret military police of the Imperial Army, later the army and navy
Tokubetsu Keisatsutai (Tokkeitai) (Special Police Corps), secret military police of the Imperial Navy, duties later assumed by the Kenpeitai
Mexico
Dirección Federal de Seguridad (DFS) (Federal Security Directorate)
División de Investigaciones para la Prevención de la Delincuencia (DIPD) (Investigation Division for the Prevention of Delinquency)
Mongolia
Dotood Yam (Ministry of Internal Affairs), active in the Mongolian People's Republic
Mozambique
National Service of Popular Security (SNASP)
Nicaragua
Dirección General de Seguridad del Estado (DGSE) (Directorate-General of State Security)
Ministerio de Seguridad Interior (MSI) (Ministry of Internal Security)
Nigeria
Nigerian Security Organization (NSO)
Ottoman Empire
Teşkilât-ı Mahsusa (Special Organization)
Paraguay
Pyraguës (Between 1814 and 1840, nicknamed Hairy Feet by civilians)
División Técnica de Represión del Comunismo (Technical Division for the Repression of Communism), active during the El Stronato period, the single-party military dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner
Departamento de Investigaciones de la Policía (DIPC) (Police Investigations Department), active during the El Stronato period, the single-party military dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner
Peru
Seguridad del Estado (State Security)
Philippines
Metrocom Intelligence and Security Group, active during the rule of Ferdinand Marcos
National Intelligence and Security Authority or NISA, active during the rule of Ferdinand Marcos.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “List of historical secret police organizations” is wikimedia list article. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through List, historical and secret, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “wikimedia list article” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 30, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6623367. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1972, 1975, 1937 and 1946.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “List of historical secret police organizations”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow List of historical secret police organizations primary sources, List of historical secret police organizations archive and List research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “List of historical secret police organizations”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “List of historical secret police organizations” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.