Border Police of Georgia

Formation of the Border Police began shortly after Georgia regained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, and was officially formed in 1992 as a paramilitary police unit within the Ministry of Defense. Its first personnel were veterans of the Border Troops of the KGB of the Georgian SSR. In 1994, the agency separated from the Ministry of Defence to become the independent State Border Defence Department. In the following years, the Coast Guard Service and the Border Aviation Service were formed as part of the new department, in 1998 and 1999 respectively. On February 11, 2004, the State Border Defence Department became a reporting agency Ministry of Internal Affairs, and was reclassified as a law-enforcement agency in 2006.{{cite web |url=http://bpg.gov.ge/en/border-police/brief-history |title=Brief History |publisher=MIA Border Police of Georgia |access-date=September 20, 2017 |archive-date=September 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922051000/http://bpg.gov.ge/en/border-police/brief-history |url-status=dead }}

The Georgian Immigration Enforcement Training Video Unit (GIETVU) works to improve training methods for immigration enforcement operatives, in January 2020 it announced it had recorded its 4000th arrest.{{Cite news|url=https://www.finanzen.net/nachricht/aktien/the-georgian-immigration-enforcement-training-video-unit-has-successfully-recorded-its-4000th-arrest-8363071|title=The Georgian Immigration Enforcement Training Video Unit has successfully recorded its 4000th arrest|date=January 3, 2020|work=Finanzen|access-date=January 6, 2020}}{{Dead link|date=July 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

The Border Police played a role in the Russo-Georgian War,{{cite web |url=http://bpg.gov.ge/en/news/visits/mia-marked-a-coast-guards-day.page |title=MIA Marked a Coast Guard's Day |date=July 17, 2017 |access-date=September 21, 2017 |publisher=MIA Border Police of Georgia}} which resulted in the loss of multiple Coast Guard ships and their crews at Poti and along the Abkhaz shore.{{cite web |url=https://turkishnavy.net/2008/09/21/russian-georgian-war-at-sea/ |title=Russian – Georgian War at Sea |publisher=Bosphorous Naval News |date=September 21, 2008 |access-date=September 21, 2017}}{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/2008/08/while-the-media/ |title=INSIDE THE BATTLE FOR THE BLACK SEA |last=Shachtman |first=Noah |magazine=Wired |date=August 15, 2008 |access-date=September 21, 2017}} Since the end of the war, the Coast Guard has continued to enforce the Georgian sea blockade of Abkhazia, arresting several commercial vessels traveling to and from Abkhazia on the Black Sea.{{cite web |url=https://www.ft.com/content/945f9dd0-8da3-11de-93df-00144feabdc0 |title=Georgia threatens Abkhazia over sea-trade |publisher=Financial Times |last=Gorst |first=Isabel |date=August 20, 2009 |access-date=September 21, 2017}}

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The Border Police is composed of three internal departments: the Land Border Defence Department, the Special Aviation Main Office, and the Coast Guard.

The Land Border Defence Department is responsible for securing Georgia's land borders with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Turkey, a total distance of approximately 1839 km.{{cite web |url=http://bpg.gov.ge/en/land-border-defence |title=Land Border Defence Department |publisher=MIA Border Police of Georgia |access-date=September 21, 2017 |archive-date=September 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922051413/http://bpg.gov.ge/en/land-border-defence |url-status=dead }}

{{See also|Coast Guard of Georgia}}

The Special Aviation Main Office assists the Land Border Defence Department and Coast Guard with air surveillance and personnel transportation. During times of natural disasters, they also conduct search and rescue missions, disaster relief efforts, and first aid services to victims.{{cite web |url=http://bpg.gov.ge/en/special-aviation |title=Special Aviation Main Office |publisher=MIA Border Police of Georgia |access-date=September 21, 2017 |archive-date=September 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922050723/http://bpg.gov.ge/en/special-aviation |url-status=dead }}

File:Flag of the Georgian Coast Guard.svg|Ceremonial Ensign of the Coast Guard

File:Georgia Border Police Special Air Force flag.svg|Flag of the Special Aviation Main Office

File:Georgia Border Police Rapid Reaction Directorate flag.svg|Flag of the Rapid Reaction Directorate

{{Portal|Law|Georgia (country)}}

• List of national border guard agencies
• Soviet Border Troops

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{{Border guards}}

Category:1992 establishments in Georgia (country)

Georgia

Category:Military units and formations established in 1992

Category:Specialist law enforcement agencies of Georgia (country)