Security Services Integration: Examples from Abroad

The issue of cooperation and integration of internal security services, such as the fire service and forest fire service, is back in the news. The question remains: can they coexist under the same roof?

According to an analysis by artificial intelligence, there are many examples of countries where the Fire Service and the Forest Fire Service are a single department or operate under the same organizational structure. Typical examples are France, Germany, Australia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, New Zealand and Poland.

In countries such as France, the Ministry of the Interior includes the National Police, the gendarmerie, the fire brigade (sapeurs-pompiers) and civil security. A similar structure exists in Germany, where the Ministry of the Interior coordinates the Federal Police, civil defense and emergency services, as well as in Israel, where the Ministry of National Security coordinates police, fire brigade, civil defense and border guard.

The advantages of a unified structure include better coordination in crises, unified planning and resource allocation, avoidance of overlaps and bureaucracy, faster decision-making, joint training and interoperability.