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Mauritius Special Mobile Force
Since independence, Mauritius has refrained from
establishing
an army, largely because of the cost of maintaining such a
force.
Instead, the security establishment includes the Mauritian
Police
Force which consists of a regular armed police of about
4,000
personnel, the paramilitary 1,200-member SMF, and the
240-member
Special Support Unit (SSU), all of which are responsible
for
internal security. There also is a Special Constabulary
and a
small Anti-Drug and Smuggling Unit under police
jurisdiction.
Mauritius lacks a traditional military budget. However,
expenditures for the various police services in FY 1991-92
amounted to MR 167.3 million (for value of the
Mauritian rupee-- see Glossary),
or about 1.4 percent of total central
government
spending.
The Mauritian Police Force reports to a police
commissioner,
who in turn is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of
Internal
Security. However, for all intents and purposes, Prime
Minister
Jugnauth commands the police. Equipment used by all these
organizations includes small arms, rifles, riot-control
gear such
as clubs and wicker shields, and tear gas canisters. The
transport inventory includes Land Rovers, light scout
cars, and
at least two helicopters. Recruitment is by voluntary
enlistment
from all ethnic communities. Training is usually conducted
in
Mauritius; however, some officers have trained in foreign
military academies such as the Royal Military Academy at
Sandhurst in Britain. In 1990 the Mauritian government
approved
the construction of a Police Academy at Vacoas.
In addition, at least two security organizations report
to
the prime minister's office. In 1982 the Mauritian
government
established the National Investigation Unit (NIU), which
had been
known as the State Service, to monitor internal security
developments and the activities of foreign embassies and
certain
foreign visitors. This organization includes up to 200
full-time
agents, all of whom are recruited from the regular police
force,
and 3,000 informers scattered throughout the country. In
1989,
after an unsuccessful attempt on his life, Jugnauth
ordered the
establishment of a 100-member Very Important Persons
Security
Unit.
Mauritius maintains a small air arm to undertake
maritime
surveillance, search and rescue missions, and to patrol
the
country's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The air inventory
includes two specially configured Dornier-228s, which were
operated by Indian crews until the first Mauritians were
trained.
The mission of the 350-member Mauritian Coast Guard
(MCG) is
to ensure the safety of Mauritian fisherman, prevent
smuggling,
and protect the marine environment. The MCG inventory
includes
two Soviet-built surveillance craft, the CGS Rescuer, and
the CGS
Retriever. Both vessels carry cannons with
1,000-meter-plus
precise-target air or marine-surface strike capability. On
March
30, 1993, the MCG purchased a 210-ton Indian-built seaward
defense boat. This vessel is armed with two Bofors 40/60
guns and
carries a thirty-two-member crew. Acquisition of this boat
improved the MCG's coastal surveillance capability. An
Indian
naval officer commands the MCG; an unknown number of MCG
personnel have received training from Indian naval
instructors.
Data as of August 1994
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