INTRODUCTION

The Guard's History and traditions date back to December 10, 1801, time in which the Royal Police Guard, the first police force of a military nature known in Portugal, was created, that after several historical vicissitudes, on May 3, 1911, received the present designation of National Republican Guard - GNR.
Presently with approximately 26.000 elements, the Guard's Force whose apparatus, installed in approximately 700 posts dispersed throughout all of the national territory, including the islands of Madeira and Azores, has under its responsibility nearly 90% of Portugal's geographical area.

INSTITUTIONAL DEPENDENCY

In time of peace, it depends on the Minister of Internal Administration, for purposes of recruitment, administration, discipline and execution of the current service of its general mission; on the Minister of National Defence for purposes of standardisation and normalisation of the military doctrine, armament and equipment.
Its force may, in case of war or in situations of crisis, be placed under the operational dependency of the Chief of the General Major Staff of the Armed Forces, through its General-Commander.

MISSION

The Guard has, as a general mission, to:

• Guarantee, in the ambit of its responsibility, the maintenance of public order, assuring the exercise of rights, liberties, and constitutional warranties;
• Maintain and re-establish the security of the citizens and the public, private and co-operative property, preventing or repressing illegal acts committed against them;
• Support the judicial authorities, performing the functions which are conferred to them as an organ of the criminal police;
• Attend to the execution of the laws and dispositions in general, namely those which refer to the terrestrial traffic and land carriages;
• Fight the fiscal violations, designedly those foreseen in the customs' law;
• Collaborate in the control of all entries and exits of national and foreign citizens into and out of the national territory;
• Help and protect the citizens as well as defend and preserve the goods which are found to be in a dangerous situation, due to causes resulting from human actions or from actions of natural causes ;
• Collaborate in the service of State honours ;
• Collaborate in the execution of politics of national defence policies. Embracing large nominative fields of life in society, in reference to the principles which rule them, as well as in regard to the most varied nature of the duties performed, the General Mission expands, fundamentally, in the following areas :
  
  • Policing ;
  • Assistance and help ;
  • Honours and representation of the State ;
  • Military.

POLICE MISSIONS

Criminal Police

On its own initiative, the Guard as an Organ of the Criminal Police has competence to:

• Collect information relating to crimes and prevent, as far as possible extent, consequences, discover the criminals and take the necessary urgent measures to gather evidence to support the statement ;
• Practice precautionary and police measures, namely to proceed to the identification of suspects, to carry out searches and inspections and to effect detentions.

Administrative Police
As a body of the Administrative Police, the Guard develops a vast range of activities to guarantee public order, security and tranquillity, to protect people and goods, to preveng criminality and to contribute to the normal functioning of the democratic institution as well as the regular exercise of the fundamental rights and liberties of the citizens and also the respect for the democratic legality.
In the sphere of administrative police, the following areas of the mission are distinguished:

• Missions of Security and Public Order;
• Missions of Control and Regulation of the Highway Traffic ;
• Fiscal Police Missions ;
• Missions of environmental Protection ;
• Missions of Assistance and Aid ;
• Missions of honours and Representation of The State ;
• Military Missions.

UNITS
The general police supervision and close contact with the populations is assured by the presence of the Territorial Units. There are four Territorial Brigades, spread out over the continental territory, through their Territorial Posts, guaranteeing assistance and aid to the populations striving for their safety on all sides of the Guard's mission. These Units are, also, principally, entrusted with the criminal investigation, disposing for this purpose of Special Groups of Action and Research (GEAP) and Criminal Investigation Nucleus (NIC). In order to develop, in a more specialised manner, some areas of its missions, the Guard disposes of Units with particular characteristics and organisation. The Traffic and Fiscal Brigades, designated as Special Units, develop their activity mainly towards a specific mission. The Traffic Brigade guarantees, all over the national territory, the security of the traffic, exercising support actions, public awareness and control.
Disposes of special forms of control, such as, for example, radar for controlling speed limits as well as equipment for alcohol and noise control. The Fiscal Brigade supervises the fiscal and customs infractions all over the national territory, and is responsible for coast surveillance. It disposes of naval means for an approach and control of ships, namely vigilance and interception barges with special characteristics adapted to the mission.
The Reserve Units are utilised only by order of the Guard's Chief Commander. They are prepared to act in missions of maintenance and reestablishment of public order, by means of the Infantry and Cavalry personnel. The Cavalry Regiment promotes training and preparation of its cavalrymen and their horses for all service made on horseback, possessing, also, motorcycle and armoured vehicles.
The Infantry Regiment, on its behalf, undertakes, in conjunction with its elements, the execution of garrison missions to certain buildings, convoys of prisoners and valuables, honours services and maintenance of public order. It also disposes of a Special Operations' Platoon, prepared to intervene in public disturbances of elevated risk and is responsible for the performance of the Inactivation of Improvised Explosive Devices Teams that the Guard has spread out throughout its apparatus. The National Republican Guard presently has a Rapid Intervention Unit in East Timor.