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Iran
Law Enforcement Agencies
Intensely concerned with matters of internal security in the
post-1953 environment, the shah authorized the development of
one of the most extensive systems of law enforcement agencies
in the developing world. The Gendarmerie--the rural police--and
the National Police gained in numbers and responsibilities. The
secret police organization, SAVAK, gained special notoriety for
its excessive zeal in "maintaining" internal security. But as
in the regular armed forces, the shah's management style virtually
eliminated all coordination among these agencies. A favorite approach
was to shuffle army personnel back and forth between their ordinary
duties and temporary positions in internal security agencies,
in order to minimize the possibility of any organized coups against
the throne. Added to this list of institutional shortcomings was
agencies' all- important public image, cloaked in mystery and
fear. Iranians in and out of the country came to perceive these
agencies as "arms" of the shah's absolute power and resented them
deeply.
Data as of December 1987
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