Karhuryhmä
Encyclopedia
The Karhu Team officially known as Helsingin poliisilaitoksen erityistoimintayksikkö (Special Operations Unit of the Helsinki police department) is a special operations and counter-terrorism unit of the Finnish
police, equivalent to SWAT
teams in the United States. Though it is part of the Helsinki
police department, Karhu is a national special police unit that is used all around Finland. Karhu was formed after the Munich massacre
in 1972 to provide security for the OSCE
Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe that was held in Helsinki
in 1975. According to law all counter-terrorist operations belong to the Police or the Finnish Border Guard
– with Finnish Defence Forces
not involved in CT during peace time.
The Karhu Team includes, in addition to leadership and training groups, direct action, technical, dog (K9), and explosive disposal groups. It can also be reinforced with a negotiation group for hostage situations.
The Karhu Team operates under the authority of the Finnish Ministry of the Interior and is headquartered in Helsinki. Its members are all volunteers and alternate between normal police work and SWAT duties. The group had a strength of about 90 police officers in 2008.
The team's weaponry consists almost entirely of standard Finnish police weapons. It uses the H&K MP5 as its primary submachinegun, Sig 552 as assault rifles and the Remington 870
as shotgun
. The only significant difference is the use of H&K USP as personal pistol. The sniper rifles used by the group are Sako TRG
-series of rifles TRG-21 and TRG-42.
The colloquial name for the group is Karhukopla, i.e. Beagle Boys
, after the Disney comics
characters.
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
police, equivalent to SWAT
SWAT
A SWAT team is an elite tactical unit in various national law enforcement departments. They are trained to perform high-risk operations that fall outside of the abilities of regular officers...
teams in the United States. Though it is part of the Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
police department, Karhu is a national special police unit that is used all around Finland. Karhu was formed after the Munich massacre
Munich massacre
The Munich massacre is an informal name for events that occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Bavaria in southern West Germany, when members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and eventually killed by the Palestinian group Black September. Members of Black September...
in 1972 to provide security for the OSCE
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...
Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe that was held in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
in 1975. According to law all counter-terrorist operations belong to the Police or the Finnish Border Guard
Finnish Border Guard
The Finnish Border guard is the national security agency responsible for enforcing the security of Finland's borders...
– with Finnish Defence Forces
Finnish Defence Forces
The Finnish Defence Forces are responsible for the defence of Finland. It is a cadre army of 15,000, of which 8,900 are professional soldiers , extended with conscripts and reservists such that the standard readiness strength is 34,700 people in uniform...
not involved in CT during peace time.
The Karhu Team includes, in addition to leadership and training groups, direct action, technical, dog (K9), and explosive disposal groups. It can also be reinforced with a negotiation group for hostage situations.
The Karhu Team operates under the authority of the Finnish Ministry of the Interior and is headquartered in Helsinki. Its members are all volunteers and alternate between normal police work and SWAT duties. The group had a strength of about 90 police officers in 2008.
The team's weaponry consists almost entirely of standard Finnish police weapons. It uses the H&K MP5 as its primary submachinegun, Sig 552 as assault rifles and the Remington 870
Remington 870
The Remington Model 870 is a U.S.-made pump-action shotgun manufactured by Remington Arms Company, Inc. It is widely used by the public for sport shooting, hunting, and self-defense. It is also commonly used by law enforcement and military organizations worldwide.-Development:The Remington 870 was...
as shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
. The only significant difference is the use of H&K USP as personal pistol. The sniper rifles used by the group are Sako TRG
Sako TRG
Sako TRG-22/42 sniper rifles were developed by the Finnish firearm manufacturer SAKO of Riihimäki. The TRG-22 is designed to fire standard .308 Winchester ammunition, while the TRG-42 is designed to fire more powerful .300 Winchester Magnum and .338 Lapua Magnum ammunition and therefore has a...
-series of rifles TRG-21 and TRG-42.
The colloquial name for the group is Karhukopla, i.e. Beagle Boys
Beagle Boys
The Beagle Boys are a group of fictional characters from the Scrooge McDuck universe. Created by Carl Barks, they are a gang of criminals who constantly try to rob Scrooge McDuck. Their introduction and first appearance was in Terror of the Beagle Boys, in Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #134,...
, after the Disney comics
Disney comics
Disney comics are comic books and comic strips featuring Walt Disney characters.The first Disney comics were newspaper strips appearing from 1930 on . In 1940, Western Publishing began producing Disney comic books in the United States...
characters.
External links
- A picture of a squad member, Poliisi magazine (Finnish)
- Helsinki Police Department