Overview
Gendarmerie is a form of policing that is primarily military in its structure, organization, and chain of command. The form and the name originated in France, but during the nineteenth century, the institution spread across Europe, the European world, and its empires. Generally speaking these institutions functioned alongside other police bodies that were more civilian in appearance and which answered to local government or to ministers whose portfolio was internal domestic or judicial affairs; in contrast the Gendarmeries usually were answerable to a minister of war/defense.
Origins
The contemporary French Gendarmerie nationale likes to trace its origins back to the Middle Ages, and the knights commissioned to protect the king’s territories while he was absent on crusade. A more plausible beginning is the Edict of Paris (1539) by which François I extended the competence of the provosts of the marshals of the French Army (les prévôts des maréchaux) and of their companies (maréchaussées...
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Emsley, C. (2014). Gendarmerie Policing. In: Bruinsma, G., Weisburd, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_454
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_454
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