People's Public Security of Vietnam

The People's Public Security of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Công an Nhân dân Việt Nam), alternatively the People's Public Security Forces (PPS; Vietnamese: Lực lượng Công an Nhân dân - CAND), also recognized as the Vietnamese Police or by its Vietnamese short name Công an (lit. 'the Public Security/Police'), is the national police and the main domestic security force of Vietnam.

The People's Public Security of Vietnam has two branches: the People's Security and the People's Police (including Civil Defense forces). These two forces are trained and educated mainly at two institutions, the People's Police Academy and the People's Security Academy, both of which are located in the capital city of Hanoi.

The People's Security prevents, investigates, and defeats potential actions from enemies of the Vietnamese state that could endanger national security. It engages in espionage and joins forces with other uniformed bodies as established by law in internal political security, economic security, ideological and cultural security, network security, and informational security. It manages entrance and exit visas, border security crossing and checkpoints, and immigration stations in airports, as well as in securing foreigners and Vietnamese expats in their visits to the country. It also defends the secrecy of the government of the republic against external and internal threats and helps to build personal security in every aspect of life and every area of the country. In keeping with the law, it performs several other duties, missions, and responsibilities under the law of Vietnam.

The People's Police prevents, investigates, and solves issues relating to environmental, political, traffic, functional, and corruption-related criminal activities in keeping with the laws of the Socialist Republic. Its also work with the general public in preventing participation in criminal actions, and perform responsibilities and duties about identification security, public security, transport security, road and highway safety, firefighting, civil defense, disaster preparedness and response, managing the Mobile Police Command, and many other duties and missions by the Constitution and the laws of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

• To collect information, analyze, evaluate, and predict situations and propose to the Party and the State to promulgate and direct the implementation of guidelines, policies, laws, and strategies to protect national security and maintain social order and safety. To propose the combination of requirements of the strategies on protection of national security and maintenance of social order and safety with those strategies and policies on socio-economic construction and development, national defense, and the State's external relations.
• To protect the freedom rights, democracy, life and property of the people; to protect high-ranking leading officials of the Party and the State and foreign guests; to safeguard important events, targets and key projects of national security, foreign representative offices, representatives of Vietnam-based international organizations, individuals holding or closely related to state secrets.
• To receive and process reports and denouncements on crimes, initiate criminal lawsuits and investigate crimes, and perform other judicial tasks according to the provisions of law.
• To sanction administrative violations and apply other administrative handling measures as provided for by law.
• To guide, inspect, and examine agencies, organizations, and citizens in performing the task of protecting national security and maintaining social order and safety; to conduct the law propagation, dissemination, and education, and build up "the whole population protects the Fatherland's security" movement.
• To apply mass mobilization, legal, diplomatic, economic, scientific-technical, professional, and armed measures to protect national security and maintain social order and safety.
• To use weapons, supporting tools, and necessary technical and professional means in attacking crimes and making self-defense according to the provisions of law.
• In case of necessity, to issue decisions on or propose the suspension or termination of operations of agencies, organizations or individuals which are detrimental to national security, social order and safety; to requisition means of transport, communication equipments and other technical means of agencies, organizations, individuals and operators or users of such means according to the provisions of law.
• To request agencies, organizations, or individuals to coordinate activities and supply information related to national security, social order, and safety.
• To closely coordinate with the People's Army, Self-Defense and Militia Forces, and state agencies in protecting national security, maintaining social order and safety, and defending national independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity.
• To research and apply modern scientific and technological achievements in protecting national security and maintaining social order and safety.
• To build up the forces of political, ideological, organizational, and professional cleanliness and strength.
• To enter into international cooperation on protection of national security and social order and safety.^[1]

Being a component of the People's Armed Forces of Vietnam alongside the Military and the Militia, PPS is placed under political leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam (via the Public Security Central Party Committee - Đảng ủy Công an Trung ương as the political head) and the executive administration of the Ministry of Public Security (Government of Vietnam).

The PPS's powers are regulated under No. 73/2014/QH13, which was passed on 27 November 2014.^[2]

The organisational system of the People's Public Security Forces is composed of the Ministry of Public Security, headed by the Minister.

Subordinate to the Ministry are the municipalities and provinces' Departments of Public Security, headed by the Directors.

As of March 2025, the MPS has dissolved 694 districts, communes, wards, and townships-level Public Security offices/posts.

Rank group	General / flag officers										Senior officers						Junior officers
			Highest rank								Middle rank						Lower rank
Vietnam People's Public Security
			General (Đại tướng)		Colonel general (Thượng tướng)		Lieutenant general (Trung tướng)		Major general (Thiếu tướng)		Senior colonel (Đại tá)	Colonel (Thượng tá)	Lieutenant colonel (Trung tá)		Major (Thiếu tá)		Captain (Đại úy)		Senior lieutenant (Thượng úy)		Lieutenant (Trung úy)		Second lieutenant (Thiếu úy)		University - college cadet (Học viên Đại học - Cao đẳng)						Intermediate - primary student (Học viên Trung cấp - Sơ cấp)

Rank group	Senior NCOs																						Junior NCOs						Enlisted
							Non-commissioned officers																						Police officers
Vietnam People's Public Security
							Master sergeant (Thượng sĩ)				Sergeant (Trung sĩ)												Corporal (Hạ sĩ)						Constable 1st class (Chiến sĩ bậc 1)						Constable 2nd class (Chiến sĩ bậc 2)

• People's Army of Vietnam
• Vietnam People's Navy
• Vietnam People's Air Force
• People's Army of Vietnam Special Forces
• Naval Air Force, Vietnam People's Navy
• Vietnam Coast Guard
• Vietnam Fisheries Surveillance

• Official website (in Vietnamese)