Secret police are state-run departments that investigate and suppress internal dissent or treason. They operate without oversight, public transparency, or compliance with the law. The Gestapo and KGB are infamous examples. Some democratic nations have also had quasi-secret police groups. The FBI and CIA in the US are allowed some protection from public scrutiny, but they adhere to the law and the criminal justice system.
The secret police is a state-run police department that generally focuses on the investigation and suppression of internal dissent or treason. Throughout history, secret police forces have been almost synonymous with the reign of totalitarian governments, although some moderate and democratic nations have also possessed quasi-secret police groups from time to time. The power of this type of police force is often closely tied to the reign of a particular dictator, political party or head of state; in many cases, the agency’s mandate is to protect its employer’s agenda, rather than written law.
The “secrecy” of the secret police refers to a non-transparent mode of operation. Unlike regular police, who may need to wear uniforms, show identification, and closely follow rules regarding permissible surveillance and treatment of citizens, this much more powerful form of police can operate without oversight, public transparency, or compliance with the laws. Throughout history, secret security forces have been linked to torture, murder, and the illegal exile of prisoners.
One of the most famous groups of secret forces in history is the Gestapo. Operating in Germany during the era of Hitler’s totalitarian regime, the Gestapo worked alongside other Nazi-run police forces to frequently round up and eliminate political dissidents, as well as Jews, homosexuals, Communists, and other enemies of the Nazi state. The Gestapo worked with total freedom, able to detain, torture and execute without any form of justice system. A special organization within the Gestapo, called Reinstatement, worked exclusively to round up Jews and send them to the horrors of concentration camps.
After the end of World War II, the rise of the State Security Committee (KGB) in Russia created another titanic secret police force. The KGB worked simultaneously as an intelligence gathering and domestic police force; his mandate was largely concerned with protecting the communist regime by suppressing or eliminating dissent within Soviet-controlled territories. By spying on citizens, the KGB worked to destroy anti-communist literature, religious movements, and any signs of a potential uprising against the powerful government.
Police forces like the Gestapo and KGB are hardly a thing of the past. Under Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted from power in 2011, many experts believe that the secret state police were responsible for the murders, beatings, illegal trials and executions of many Egyptian citizens. After the resignation of President Mubarak, the Egyptian government immediately moved to dissolve the hated organization.
To some extent, most nations allow certain security forces to work partially in secret. In the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency are permitted some protections from public scrutiny in order to preserve their job security. What distinguishes these and many other national security forces from secret police status is their adherence to the law and the criminal justice system, something that is rarely the case with a secret force.
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