The Border Police of Georgia (Georgian: შსს-ის საქართველოს სასაზღვრო პოლიცია) is the primary border guarding force and coast guard in the country of Georgia, and is under command of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It is responsible for patrolling the entire 1839 km (1142.7 mi) land border of Georgia, as well as the country's 310 km (192.6 mi) coastline and territorial waters in the Black Sea.[1] However, border control at checkpoints is instead performed by the Patrol Police department.[2] The current chief is Nikoloz Sharadze.
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 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.[3]
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.[4]
The Border Police played a role in the Russo-Georgian War,[5] which resulted in the loss of multiple Coast Guard ships and their crews at Poti and along the Abkhaz shore.[6][7] 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.[8]
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.[15]
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.[16]
