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{{short description|Term for the civil police force in some French-speaking countries}}
{{Italic title}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2021}}

'''{{lang|fr|Sûreté}}''' ({{IPA|fr|syʁ.te|lang}}, {{lit|surety}} but often translated to 'safety' or 'security') is, in some [[Geographical distribution of French speakers|French-speaking countries or regions]], the organizational title of a civil police force.

==Algeria==
The [[Algerian police|Directorate General for National Security]] is known in French as the Sûreté Nationale.

== Belgium ==
{{main|State Security Service (Belgium)}}

The VSSE is known by its French name, Sûreté de l'État.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.comiteri.be/images/pdf/publicaties/belgian%20civil%20intel%20w%20vlm.pdf|first1=Wauter |last1=Van Laethem |title=The Belgian civil intelligence service: roles, powers, organisation and supervision |journal=EJIS <!-- possibly [[European Journal of International Security]] but not found at the journal's website. Perhaps a change of publisher would explain the omission. --> |volume =2 |date=2008|issue= 1 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lasoen |first1=Kenneth L. |date=2016-03-02 |title=185 years of Belgian security service |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16161262.2016.1145854 |journal=Journal of Intelligence History |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=96–118 |doi=10.1080/16161262.2016.1145854 |issn=1616-1262|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Canada==
The [[Law enforcement in Canada|provincial police force]] of [[Québec]] is called the [[Sûreté du Québec]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Airbus H145 helicopter joins Sûreté du Québec fleet |url=https://verticalmag.com/news/airbus-h145-helicopter-joins-surete-du-quebec-fleet/ |access-date=2023-12-19 |website=Vertical Mag |language=en-US}}</ref>

==France==
{{See also|Law enforcement in France}}

The [[National Police (France)|French National Police]] was formerly called Sûreté générale and then Sûreté nationale.<ref name="L'histoire">{{Cite web |title=L'histoire de la police en France {{!}} Police nationale |url=https://www.devenirpolicier.fr/nous-decouvrir/notre-histoire |access-date=2023-12-19 |website=www.devenirpolicier.fr}}</ref>

===History===
The Sûreté nationale, or Sûreté, began as the criminal investigative bureau of the {{lang|fr|[[Paris Police Prefecture|Préfecture de police de Paris]]}} (Paris Police Prefecture) and did not function as the national command and control organization until much later, by which time it no longer had any [[detective]]s on its staff.

Both the Paris Police Prefecture's [[Direction régionale de la police judiciaire de la préfecture de police de Paris#Organization|Brigade Criminelle]] and the [[Central Directorate of the Judicial Police|Direction centrale de la Police judiciaire]] trace their history directly to the Sûreté.

The French Sûreté is considered a pioneer of all crime-fighting organizations in the world, although London's [[Bow Street Runners]], founded 1749, served a similar purpose at times. Founded in 1812 by [[Eugène François Vidocq]], who headed it until 1827, it was the inspiration for [[Scotland Yard]], the [[FBI]], and other departments of criminal investigation throughout the world. Vidocq was convinced that crime could not be controlled by then-current police methods, so he organized a special branch of the criminal division modelled on [[Napoleon]]'s [[political police]]. The force was to work undercover and its early members consisted largely of reformed criminals. By 1820&nbsp;– eight years after its formation&nbsp;– it had blossomed into a 30-man team of experts that had reduced the crime rate in Paris by 40%.

On 23 April 1941, the French police was nationalized under the [[Vichy regime]], and each branch was placed under the prefect. The term ''Police nationale'' ("National Police") was then first used&nbsp;– with the sole exception of the [[Paris Police Prefecture]]. This organisational name was used during the Fourth and Fifth French Republic.

On 9 July 1964, the previously independent police in Paris were placed under the Sûreté nationale and 10 July 1966 saw the final reorganization into the [[National Police (France)|National Police]] in its present form.

===Notable original members===
* [[Eugène François Vidocq]] – founder and first chief

==Morocco==
The national police force of Morocco is the [[Sûreté Nationale (Morocco)|Sûreté Nationale]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Operation France-Morocco involving controlled delivery |url=https://sherloc.unodc.org/cld/case-law-doc/drugcrimetype/mar/operation_france-morocco_involving_controlled_delivery.html |access-date=2023-12-19 |website= |language=en}}</ref>

==Switzerland==
''Sûreté'' is the name of the [[detective]] branch of the [[cantonal police]] of the [[French language|French]]-speaking [[cantons of Switzerland]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Cantonal police corps |url=https://www.fedpol.admin.ch/fedpol/en/home/polizei-zusammenarbeit/national/kantonale_polizeikorps.html |access-date=2023-12-19 |website=www.fedpol.admin.ch |language=en}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{wiktionary-inline}}

{{Law enforcement agencies of France}}
{{Law enforcement in Switzerland}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Surete}}
[[Category:Defunct law enforcement agencies of France]]
[[Category:Law enforcement in France]]
[[Category:National Police (France)]]