The Lausanne Police Intervention Group (GIPL) is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. With 180 to 200 interventions on average per year, this group of around twenty highly trained police officers specializes in dangerous missions, such as arrests of madmen, robberies, hostage-taking or terrorist threats.
To mark this anniversary, the GIPL organized this week a full-scale joint training with members of the intervention groups from French-speaking Switzerland (GIRO), the Confederation (Tigris), Ticino (RIS) but also from France (GIGN and RAID). and Luxembourg (USP). Around fifty elite police officers took part in a simulation of a mass killing in a nightclub in Lausanne and the tracking down of a madman in the Chalet-à-Gobet forest.
The opportunity to return to a very special unit of the Lausanne municipal police, which far prefers the shadows to the light. The head of the GIPL and his deputy, who must remain anonymous, nevertheless agreed to receive Keystone-ATS as part of this jubilee, in the premises of the Lausanne police.
Created in 1984, the intervention group is now made up of around twenty members. This special force benefits from a particular arsenal: drones, vehicles, attack dog, specific equipment (explosives, hydraulic tools, helmets, vests, shields and other special protection). When the situation requires it, it can also use helicopters thanks to a concordat with the Swiss army.
The group is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. He does not give details of his budget.
Interventions on the rise
The GIPL intervenes during arrests and dangerous missions which may occur on municipal territory. But also throughout Switzerland, either as a continuation of an event, or as part of planned support for another intervention group.
Its field of activity focuses on the arrests of suicidal people, armed or likely to be so, transfers of dangerous detainees, targeted operations in the world of drug trafficking, tracking down and controlling madmen, robberies, kidnappings, hostage-taking and terrorist threats.
GIPL interventions have clearly increased in recent decades. “We went from 90 to 100 at one time to 180 to 200 interventions on average per year today, or three to four on average per week,” explains the head of the GPIL.
The most frequent interventions concern drug trafficking, particularly during arrests whether in an apartment, in a vehicle or in the street, as well as disturbed individuals or madmen. The rarest are major hostage situations.
Very demanding selection
Becoming a member of this special unit is a real obstacle course. The process lasts almost 20 months. Employees are first selected internally within the municipal police, based on their professional experience.
“Basic police work must be acquired before being able to apply,” says the chief. “Recruitment, selection and training are very specialized and demanding. It is therefore at the same time a choice of life, a vocation and a passion,” he emphasizes.
The requirement is both psychological and physical. “The objective is to choose police officers capable of keeping their cool in difficult situations. Being part of the GIPL is above all a state of mind, knowing that physical condition is obvious. Great lucidity is required in the stress management, a lot of determination, a great capacity for resilience and an immense team spirit,” explains his leader.
Finally “badged” confirmed GI
After half a day of physical and shooting tests, an interview with a psychologist and HR, one day of GIRO prerequisite tests, 48 hours of physical and mental tests on surprise effects and, finally, a one-month internship at the GIPL, the applicant then participates in the French-speaking intervention group course (GIRO) which lasts two weeks.
If he is declared “suitable”, he then completes an 18-month internship within the Lausanne unit to fully validate his training. A final symbolic test, in the form of an individual test, allows the NGI (new GI) to be officially “badged” as a confirmed GI.
Beyond basic training, there are then six specialties within the GIPL: ropes (rappelling, etc.), break-ins (doors, windows, etc.), medical (tactical first aid), long-range shooters (TS), dog handler and drone pilot.
If injuries are not rare, especially in training, there have, however, never been any deaths within the GIPL in 40 years of existence, its officials still note.
Also note that the GIPL and the Rapid Action and Dissuasion Detachment, the cantonal DARD, have been collaborating since 2019.
This article was automatically published. Source: ats
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