| Special Intervention Unit | |
|---|---|
| Poliisin Valmiusyksikkö Karhu (Finnish) Polisens beredskapsenhet (Swedish) | |
| Active | 1972 – present |
| Country |  Finland |
| Agency | Helsinki Police Department |
| Type | Police tactical unit |
| Operations jurisdiction | National |
| Headquarters | Helsinki |
| Common name |
|
| Structure | |
| Officers | Approx. 60 (2011) |
| Equipment | |
| Animals | 4 police dogs (2011) |
The Police Special Intervention Unit (SIU) (Finnish: poliisin Valmiusyksikkö Karhu; Swedish: polisens beredskapsenhet), known as Special Intervention Unit Karhu, is the tier one national police tactical unit in the Helsinki Police Department (HPD) of the Police of Finland.
The unit's missions primarily involve apprehension of armed and dangerous criminals, hostage rescue crisis management, tactical law enforcement and special operations, counterterrorism, reconnaissance, executive and meeting venue protection, and crowd and riot control.
The unit is commonly known as the Bear Squad (Finnish: Karhu-ryhmä).
History
The Police Special Intervention Unit was formed as a national police tactical unit in the spring of 1972. It provided security for the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, held in Helsinki in 1975.
Organization
The Karhu Unit operates under the authority of the Helsinki Police Department and, in turn, the National Police Board and the Ministry of the Interior. According to Finnish law, all counterterrorism and hostage rescue operations are within the jurisdiction of the Police. In addition to operative units, the group includes sniper, technical support, police dog, and bomb disposal teams. It can be reinforced with a negotiation team during hostage crisis management situations.
Team members are selected from currently serving law enforcement personnel and undergo a training of one year, followed by a continuous on-the-job training programme. They alternate between normal field work, training and special operations duties: Training takes approximately half and special operations 1⁄10 of their time while the rest consists of regular duties.
The team had a strength of around 60 officers and 4 police dogs in 2011.
Karhu is also tasked to support other police units when necessary.
Training
Karhu often does joint training with the Utti Jaeger Regiment.
See also
References
- Laakso, Silva (30 March 2018). "Näin toimivat Suomen poliisin erikoisjoukot – kun poliisilla on edessä pahin mahdollinen tilanne, paikalle hälytetään Karhu-ryhmä". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 15 August 2021.
- ^ "Karhu-ryhmän poliisi pitää työnsä salassa suvultaankin" [An officer of the Bear Squad keeps his work hidden even from family]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). 2011-09-25. Archived from the original on 2018-02-04. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
- ^ "Näin toimii poliisin mystinen Karhu-ryhmä" [This is how the mystical Bear Squad works]. MTV3 (in Finnish). 2011-04-25. Archived from the original on 2018-02-04. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
- ^ "Special Intervention Unit Karhu is a police special intervention unit for both regular and emergency conditions".
- "Special Intervention Unit of the police to practise with the Utti Jaeger Regiment".
