The National Police Service (), also known as the General Directorate "National Police" () is an independent agency of the Ministry of the Interior responsible for general law enforcement in Bulgaria.

History

Directorate for Police and State Security (1925–1944) With the creation of the Law for Administration and Police in 1925 was established the Police and State Security Directorate.

Its duties included enforcing laws and ensuring the safety of the country. It continued to function until 1944 with the creation of the People's Militia.

Militia (1944–1989) The People's Militia () was established by the Council of Ministers with Decree No. 1 on 10 September 1944 (one day after the communist coup).

The Directorate of the People's Militia was structured into two departments: State Security and People's Militia.

On April 1, 1947, the Main Directorate of the People's Militia was established, which included the Directorate of State Security and the Directorate of the People's Militia.

The militia functioned as a basic police force, but also acted as an intelligence agency and spied on both its own and foreign citizens, secretly gathering information for the communist party.

With the democratic changes of 1991, the People's Militia was replaced by the National Police.

General Directorate of the National Police (1991–present) With the fall of communism in 1991 was established the National Police Directorate and later, in 1993 was accepted the new law for the national police.

In 2008 the national police numbered 47000 officers and 5000 administrative workers. In 2022 a total of 53114 officers and ~4000 civilian workers served under the GDNP.

Directors

Encho Staykov (September 1944) Radenko Vidinsky (September – November 1944) Rusi Hristozov (November 1944 – April 1947) Blagoi Penev (January 10, 1948 – April 20, 1950) Major General Georgi Krastev (March – October 1963) Colonel Petko Stoyanov (1953 – May 1954; 1957 – 1963) Grigor Shopov (June 18, 1963 – ?) Major General Georgi Krastev (? – April 1966) Lieutenant General Nikola Angelov (April 1966 – December 1969) Major General Kostadin Iliev (July 17, 1972 – October 22, 1981) Major General Ivan Dimitrov (October 22, 1981 – February 21, 1990) Colonel Hristo Velichkov (1990) Colonel Viktor Mihailov (1990 – December 1992) Major General Hristo Marinski (January 3 – February 19, 1997) Colonel Slavcho Bosilkov (February 19, 1997 – December 3, 1998) Major General Vasil Vasilev (December 3, 1998 – December 15, 2003) Major General Ilia Iliev (December 15, 2003 – September 21, 2005) Lieutenant General Valentin Petrov (September 21, 2005 – November 28, 2007) Chief Commissioner Veselin Petrov (November 28, 2007 – July 1, 2008) Chief Commissioner Krasimir Petrov (July 1, 2008 – November 25, 2013) Chief Commissioner Todor Grebenarov (November 25, 2013 – February 24, 2015) Chief Commissioner Hristo Terziyski (February 24, 2015 – July 24, 2020) Senior Commissioner Nikolay Hadzhiev (July 24, 2020 – June 8, 2021) Chief Commissioner Stanimir Stanev  (June 8, 2021 – January 4, 2022) Senior Commissioner Atanas Ilkov (January 4, 2022 – January 7, 2022) Chief Commissioner Vencislav Kirchev (January 7, 2022 – August 9, 2022) Atanas Ilkov (since August 9, 2022 – current director of the National Police)

Structure

The National Police has the following structure: General Directorate "National Police" Director departments and sectors directly subordinated to the Director Deputy Director Criminal Police Department Economic Police Department Deputy Director Department for Investigations Department for Methodic Supervision of Investigations independent sectors Deputy Director Public Order and Territorial Police Department – Security Police, Traffic Police Specialized Police Forces

Ranks and insignia National Police Service

Others Rank group Policemen National Police Service

Locations

The National Police Service of Bulgaria operates more than 180 police stations. These facilities are organized under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior and are distributed across 28 Regional Directorates of the Ministry of Interior, which oversee policing and law enforcement operations throughout the country . 27 of the directorates are to be found named as ODMVR (Oblastna Direkciya na MVR, Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior), while the Directorate for Sofia is to be named SDVR (Stolichna Direkciya na Vatreshnite Raboti, Directorate of the Ministry of Interior for Stolichna Municipality).

+ National Police Service of Bulgaria stations and substations Province Directorate Town Station Count Blagoevgrad Province ODMVR Blagoevgrad Blagoevgrad 2* Razlog 1 Bansko 1 Gotse Delchev 1 Petrich 1 Sandanski 1 Burgas Province ODMVR Burgas Burgas 4* Aitos 1 Karnobat 1 Malko Tarnovo 1 Nessebar 1 Primorsko 1 Pomorie 1 Ruen 1 Sozopol 1 Sredets 1 Sungurlare 1 Tsarevo 1 Varna Province ODMVR Varna Varna 5* Aksakovo 1 Devnya 1 Provadiya 1Veliko Tarnovo ProvinceODMVR Veliko Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo 1* Gorna Oryahovitsa 1 Elena 1 Pavlikeni 1 Svishtov 1Vidin ProvinceODMVR Vidin Vidin 3* Belogradchik 2 Kula 1Vratsa ProvinceODMVR Vratsa Vratsa 2* Mezdra 1 Byala Slatina 1 Kozloduyi 1 Oryahovo 1Gabrovo ProvinceODMVR Gabrovo Gabrovo 1* Sevlievo 1 Dryanovo 1 Tryavna 1Dobrich ProvinceODMVR Dobrich Dobrich 2* Tervel 1 Balchik 1 General Toshevo 1 Shabla 1 Krushari 1Kyustendil ProvinceODMVR Kyustendil Kyustendil 1* Dupnitsa 1 Bobov Dol 1 Rila 1Kardzhali ProvinceODMVR Kardzhali Kardzhali 2* Momchilgrad 1 Dzhebel 1 Kirkovo 1 Ardino 1 Krumovgrad 1Lovech ProvinceODMVR Lovech Lovech 1* Troyan 1 Teteven 1 Lukovit 1 Ugarchin 1 Yablanitsa 1Montana ProvinceODMVR Montana Montana 1* Lom 1 Berkovitsa 1Pazardzhik ProvinceODMVR Pazardzhik Pazardzhik 1* Velingrad 1 Panagyurishte 1 Peshtera 1 Septemvri 1Pernik ProvinceODMVR Pernik Pernik 2* Radomir 1 Breznik 1 Tran 1Pleven Province ODMVR Pleven Pleven 2* Cherven Bryag 1 Levski 1 Nikopol 1 Dolni Dubnik 1 Dolna Mitropolia 1 Knezha 1Plovdiv Province ODMVR Plovdiv Plovdiv 6* Asenovgrad 1 Karlovo 1 Hisar 1 Stamboliiski 1 Rakovski 1 Parvomai 1 Trud 1Razgrad ProvinceODMVR Razgrad Razgrad 1* Isperih 1 Kubrat 1Ruse ProvinceODMVR Ruse Ruse 2* Byala 1 Betovo 1 Dve Mogili 1 Slivo Pole 1Silistra Province ODMVR Silistra Silistra 1* Tutrakan 1 Dulovo 1Sliven Province ODMVR Sliven Sliven 1* Nova Zagora 1 Kotel 1 Tvarditsa 1Smolyan Province ODMVR Smolyan Smolyan 1* Chepelare 1 Devin 1 Madan 1 Zlatograd 1 Sofia City Province SDVR Sofia 9*Sofia ProvinceODMVR Sofia Botevgrad 1 Elin Pelin 1 Etropole 1 Ihtiman 1 Kostenets 1 Kostinbrod 1 Pirdop 1 Pravets 1 Samokov 1 Svoge 1 Slivnitsa 1Stara Zagora ProvinceODMVR Stara Zagora Stara Zagora 2* Kazanlak 1 Chirpan 1 Galabovo 1 Radnevo 1Targovishte ProvinceODMVR Targovishte Targovishte 1* Popovo 1 Omurtag 1Haskovo ProvinceODMVR Haskovo Haskovo 1* Dimitrovgrad 1 Svilengrad 1 Harmanli 1 Topolovgrad 1 Ivailovgrad 1Shumen ProvinceODMVR Shumen Shumen 1* Veliki Preslav 1 Novi Pazar 1 Kaolinovo 1Yambol ProvinceODMVR Yambol Yambol 1* Tundzha 1 Straldzha 1 Elhovo 1

* denotes Regional Police Stations, which is higher in the hierarchy. Plain numbers denote Police Stations.

Inventory

Small arms +NameOriginTypeNotesMakarovSemi-automatic pistolLocally produced at the Arsenal plant in Kazanlak. Most popular pistol in the Bulgarian Police.Walther PDPBought in bulk since 2020. Second most popular handgun, though mostly used in the bigger cities and by higher ranked police in the countryside.Glock 17Used by ГДБОП and СОБТ they are used for years and still using them Submachine gun +NameOriginTypeNotesBrügger & Thomet MP9Submachine gunUsed by СДВР (Столична дирекция на вътрешните работи) Heckler & Koch MP5Used by СДВР,ГДБОП,СОБТ

Vehicles

The vehicle fleet of the National Police Service construes of a wide variety of different models. The police cars of Bulgaria could be both marked and unmarked. The marked police cars could be colored in the older Bulgarian police livery, which is a white-painted body with two blue stripes, Police written in Bulgarian along with the National Police Service's logo. Some vehicles are featuring a slight variation of this livery, being colored in either red, or dark blue. Recently, a newer livery was introduced, featuring a color scheme with a white-blue livery and prominent neon yellow reflective stripes for high visibility in an effort to unify the color palette of the marked police cars and make it consistent with the style used in various other European countries.

+ National Police Service of Bulgaria's vehicles Make Model Details Photo Note Skoda Kodiaq New livery. Volkswagen Golf Variant New livery. Volvo XC60 PHEV New livery. BMW 3 Series 330d Touring New livery. Mostly used as Highway Police Ford Tourneo New livery. Kia Ceed Usually featuring the old livery. Skoda Rapid Usually featuring the old livery. Volkswagen Tiguan Featuring armored elements; usually using the old livery. SsangYong Tivoli Used mostly as Municipal Police in Sofia. Could be seen in both the new livery, but also in the traditional Bulgarian police-car colors. Great Wall H6 Old livery. Opel Astra 1.6 Classic This is the longest-standing horse of the Bulgarian National Police Service. Used for many years; featuring the old livery, and could also be seen in red and blue. After many years of faithful service, fewer and fewer Opel Astras are to be spotted patrolling. Citroen Xsara Picasso Old livery. In the past it was also heavily used by the Bulgarian Border Police. Ford Ranger Pick-up (with a hard top) Old livery. Ford Transit Old livery - Featuring armored elements. VolkswagenT5Old livery.

See also Ministry of Justice Law enforcement in Bulgaria

References

External links Official website