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Municipal police are law enforcement agencies that are under the control of local government

Local government

Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...

, including the municipal government, where it is the smallest administrative subdivision. They receive pay from the city budget, and usually have fewer rights than the "state paid" police. They are generally preventive police, but their powers are often limited and they may be restricted as to the equipment they can carry.

Municipal police by country

Country	English language name	Native language(s) name(s)
Albania Albania Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...	Municipal Police
Algeria Algeria Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...	Municipal Guards
Argentina Argentina Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...	Metropolitan Police (Buenos Aires) Metropolitan Police (Buenos Aires) The Metropolitan Police is a police force being formed for the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. Currently security in the city is primarily the responsibility of the Argentine Federal Police. As of February 2011, it is composed of 1850 officers in about 10 neighbourhoods.The force is planned by...
Austria	Community security guards Municipal police (Austria) The Gemeindesicherheitswache are the municipal police forces of some communities in Austria. They may also be known as Gemeindewachkörper, Sicherheitspolizeien , Gemeindepolizeien or Stadtpolizeien. All communities are allowed to maintain their own municipal police....
Belgium	Local Police
Brazil	Municipal Guards
Canada	Municipal and regional police services (criminal and administrative offences) and bylaw enforcement officer Bylaw enforcement officer A bylaw enforcement officer is a law enforcement employee of a municipality, county or regional district, charged with the enforcement of non-criminal bylaws, rules, laws, codes or regulations enacted by local governments.... s (administrative offences)
Czech Republic Czech Republic The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....	City/Municipal Police
Estonia Estonia Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...	Municipal Police
France	Municipal Police Municipal Police (France) The Municipal Police are the local police of towns and cities in France. The French municipal police are under the direct authority of the Mayor, who is charged with significant powers of police administration, according to the regulations in Article L...
Germany	City Police Municipal police (Germany) Stadtpolizei is the name given to the municipal police forces of some German cities.After 1945, there were many local and city police forces, such as the Munich Police Force, throughout Germany...
Italy	Municipal Police
Latvia Latvia Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...	Municipal Police
Mexico	Municipal Police
Namibia Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...	Municipal Police
Poland	City/Municipal Guard
Portugal	Municipal Police
Romania Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...	Communal Police
Serbia Serbia Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...	Communal Police Municipal police (Serbia) Municipal police is the organizational unit within the organs of city administration.Police securing implementation of tasks, that are within the jurisdiction of the city.- Jurisdiction :...
Slovakia Slovakia The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...	City/Municipal Police
Spain	Municipal Police
South Africa South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...	Municipal Police Municipal Police (South Africa) In South Africa, the Municipal Police are the separate police forces maintained by some municipalities. Municipal police forces are responsible for traffic policing and enforcing local bylaws within the municipality, and work in co-operation with the South African Police Service to prevent crime...
Switzerland	Municipal Police Municipal police (Switzerland) The municipal police of Switzerland are a series of separate forces maintained by the municipalities of each canton. There are between 100 and 300 municipal police forces. Most of these forces are responsible for general law and order and parking enforcement only...
Turkey	Municipal Police
United States	Municipal police departments

History

Historically, the role of the municipal police was carried out by the Municipal Guards. Today some formations of municipal police still carry the name of the city/communal/municipal guard. Examples:

• Brazil - guarda municipal
• Poland - straż miejska

See also

• Metropolitan police
  Metropolitan police
  Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
  
  
• Colombo Town Guard
  Colombo Town Guard
  Colombo Town Guard was regiment attached to the Ceylon Defence Force which was the predecessor to the Sri Lanka Army prior to 1949 when the Ceylon Army was formed. It was a volunteer regiment was based in Colombo.-History:...