The Special Security Force Command is a paramilitary

Paramilitary

A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....

 law enforcement body in Bahrain

Bahrain

' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...

 under the command of the National Security Agency

National Security Agency (Bahrain)

The National Security Agency or National Security Apparatus is an investigating authority in Bahrain that is associated with but not formally part of the Ministry of the Interior. The NSA was formed after King Hamad issued Decree No...

, associated with the Ministry of the Interior

Ministry of the Interior (Bahrain)

The Ministry of the Interior is the Interior ministry of Bahrain. It is responsible for law enforcement and public safety in Bahrain. The headquarter of the ministry is at the Diwan Fort in Manama, coloquially referred to as "al-gal'aa".The current interior minister Lieutenant-General Shaikh...

. The SSFC is more commonly referred to as the "Special Security Forces", the "Special Forces", or as the "riot police" .

A majority of the personnel of the SSFC are recruited from outside of Bahrain, from Arab countries or Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

. There are reportedly no Bahraini Shia among the ranks of the SSFC.
The Special Security Forces have been accused of widespread human rights abuses, including torture, in trying to suppress opposition political activity in Bahrain. The SSFC has been at the front line of the Bahrain government's brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters during the 2011 Bahraini uprising

2011 Bahraini uprising

The 2011 Bahraini uprising, sometimes called the February 14 Revolution is a series of demonstrations, amounting to a sustained campaign of civil resistance, in the Persian Gulf country of Bahrain...

 in the Arab Spring

Arab Spring

The Arab Spring , otherwise known as the Arab Awakening, is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world that began on Saturday, 18 December 2010...

.

In November 2007, Bahrain signed a cooperation agreement with France under which French police officers working in the Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité

Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité

The Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité are the riot control forces and general reserve of the French National Police. The CRS were created on 8 December 1944 and the first units were organised by 31 January 1945. The CRS were reorganized in 1948...

 have provided training to Bahrain's SSFC. A company of the SSFC were deployed to Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

 to provide base security at the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

's Camp Leatherneck

Camp Leatherneck

Camp Leatherneck is a 1,600 acre United States Marine Corps base located in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade initially developed Camp Leatherneck in 2008 in preparation of its forces deploying to Afghanistan. The forward element of the II Marine Expeditionary Force...

.