Police Special Operation Department
| Polis Özel Harekât Dairesi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1983–present |
| Country |  Turkey |
| Branch | General Directorate of Security |
| Type | Police tactical unit |
| Size | 22,000 |
| Part of | Respective municipality-level police departments |
| Garrison/HQ | Ankara, Turkey |
| Nickname(s) | PÖH, Üç Harfliler |
| Mascot(s) | Eagle |
| Commanders | |
| Current commander | Selami Türker |
| Notable commanders | Behçet Oktay |
The Police Special Operations Department (Turkish: Polis Özel Harekât Dairesi) or Police Special Action[1] (Turkish: Polis Özel Harekât), abbreviated as PÖH, is the tier one police tactical unit of the General Directorate of Security in Republic of Türkiye that specialized in quick response to security emergency situations with SWAT unit tactics.
History
[edit]
The PÖH was founded in 1983[2] as "Special Operations Office" (Turkish: Özel Harekat Şube Müdürlüğü), under the command of Department of Public Security, to prevent armed acts of terrorist organizations residential area or in rural areas, to rescue hostages in places like aircraft, land vehicles, ships, subways, trains, and in enclosed spaces like buildings, to ensure the safety in cities and in civil aviation airports with special skills, modern weapons, ammunition, vehicles, equipment, tactics and techniques.
In larger cities like Ankara, Istanbul, and İzmir, "Special Operations Group Authorities "(Turkish: Özel Harekat Grup Amirlikleri) were organized in the same year.
As a result of changing conditions, in 1987, the office was transferred to the Anti-Terrorism and Operations Department under the name "Special Operations Branch" (Turkish: Özel Harekat Şubesi).
In 1993, the Special Operations Branch was promoted to a department and gained its current structuring.[3]
İbrahim Şahin was head of the Department until being forced to resign in 1996 over the Susurluk scandal. Ayhan Çarkın was a notable member of the department in the 1990s.
Missions
[edit]The unit's missions primarily involve anti-irregular military, apprehension of armed and dangerous criminals, counterterrorism, executive protection, high-risk tactical law enforcement situations, hostage rescue crisis management, maneuver warfare, operating in difficult to access terrains, protecting high-level meeting areas, providing security in areas at risk of attack or terrorism, rapid respond to security emergency situations, special reconnaissance in difficult to access and dangerous areas, support crowd control and riot control, and other tactical special operations.
Organisation
[edit]The force consists of 22,000 personnel, more than a thousand of whom are women.[4]
It is also deployed as part of the Turkish occupation of northern Syria.[5]
Training
[edit]To qualify for PÖH, an applicant must:
- Run the 2500m designated area with a backpack weighing 10 kg, under 15 minutes
- Have 50% minimum accuracy in pistol and rifle shooting
- Swim 150 m without stopping
- Be between ages 18 and 32
- Have graduated from police high school or university
In addition, a training simulation called TAKSİS is conducted by TÜBİTAK.[6]
Expert airplane-train-bus operations, basic tactical diving, commando style raids, crowd control and riot control, counterinsurgency, defusing and disposal of bombs and land mines, desert warfare, executive protection, fast and effective use of weapons, gathering field intelligence, heliborne, maneuver warfare, NBCR on operations in contaminated environments, residential warfare, rescue operations with or without hostages, marksmanship, mountain warfare, negotiation, psychological warfare, reconnaissance, SERE, shooting techniques, sniper and counter-sniper tactics, surface boat operations, superior physical conditioning training, tactical emergency medical and casualty evacuation, and urban counterterrorism.
After 6 months of training, the applicant will receive a certificate officially identifying himself as an operator of PÖH.[7]
Tactics
[edit]PÖH uses automatic and special weapons and rapid deployment tactics for exceptional circumstances such as anti-irregular military, bank robberies, counterinsurgency, counter-snipers, crowd control and riot control, dangerous criminals, defusing and disposal of bombs or unexploded ordnance, kidnappings, hostage rescues, providing security in areas at risk of attack or terrorism, reconnaissance in risky areas, urban terrorisms, VIPs protection, and among others.
The nature of the unit is quite like US SWAT units or the German GSG 9. PÖH mostly specializes in anti-irregular military, apprehension of armed and dangerous criminals, counterinsurgency, executive protection, high-risk tactical law enforcement situations, operating in difficult to access terrains, rapid respond to security emergency situations with SWAT unit tactics, urban counterterrorism, and hostage rescue operations against irregular forces and is able to undertake operations in many environments, including buses and planes.
Police Special Operation Department is one of a handful of security forces in the world which employs active front line female squad members in combat operations.[8]
Equipment
[edit]
Vehicles
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Joost Jongerden, The Settlement Issue in Turkey and the Kurds: An Analysis of Spatial Policies, Modernity and War, Brill, 2007, p. 70.
- ^ "Kuruluşumuz". egm.gov.tr. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- ^ "EGM - Özel Harekat Daire Başkanlığı". Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ "Emniyetin yiğit kadınları: Kadın Polis Özel Harekat". trthaber.com (in Turkish). 16 January 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- ^ "Turkish police special forces put on media display". Ahval. March 2018.
- ^ "TAKSİS - Taktik Eğitim Sistemi". Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ Özel harekat polisine, 6 aylık zorlu eğitim, 19 September 2019, retrieved 25 June 2023
- ^ "2021 Özel Harekat Polisi Olma Şartları Neler? (Nasıl Olunur?) (GÜNCEL)". Sartlarineler.com (in Turkish). 20 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- ^ "STUNNING Special Forces Weapons and Training | MPT-76 | SAR-109T | SAR 56 | SAR 762 MT - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ "American Rifleman - Akdal MKA 1919 Shotgun". Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ POLiS Özel Harekat Timi. YouTube. 11 April 2007. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ "Soldier shooting training". Archived from the original on 27 March 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
- ^ "STUNNING Special Forces Weapons and Training | MPT-76 | SAR-109T | SAR 56 | SAR 762 MT - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ "MPT 76 SH - Sarsılmaz Silah". www.sarsilmaz.com. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ "PÖH milli keskin nişancı tüfeklerini kullanıyor - M5 Dergi". m5dergi.com. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ "STUNNING Special Forces Weapons and Training | MPT-76 | SAR-109T | SAR 56 | SAR 762 MT - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ "Özel harekâta özel silah - Şanliurfa Haberleri". Şanliurfa Haberleri. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ "SURİYE'DEKİ MUHALİF ÖRGÜTLERİN ASKERİ KAPASİTESİ: SİLAH TÜRLERİ VE SİLAHLANMA - PDF Free Download".
- ^ "Accuracy International AX50 in use with Turkish Law Enforcement". Archived from the original on 3 April 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
- ^ "PÖH milli keskin nişancı tüfeklerini kullanıyor - M5 Dergi". m5dergi.com. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ "Steyr SSG 08". Archived from the original on 4 November 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ^ Kula, Mehmet Ali (13 September 2022). "Türkiye, Çin'den 3 binden fazla makineli tüfek aldı!". DefenceTurk (in Turkish). Retrieved 24 September 2023.
- ^ "STUNNING Special Forces Weapons and Training | MPT-76 | SAR-109T | SAR 56 | SAR 762 MT - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ "Police Car". Archived from the original (JPG) on 1 March 2020.
- ^ "EGM Havacılık Daire Başkanlığımızın ilk Atak T129 helikopteri teslim edildi".
