VIETNAM
Law Enforcement
Vietnamese legal thought with regard to the treatment of criminals is the result of
three major influences: Classic Confucianism, the Napoleonic Code and Marxism-
Leninism.
Confucian concepts postulate that society is to be governed not by law but by moral
men and that crime is a symptomatic of an absence of virtue that engenders conflict
and disharmony. Most importantly it provides no principle of judicial administration. In
Imperial China, justice was an interpretation of the moment by the emperor and his
mandarins, meaning that in every instance imperial will was superior to the law.
The spirit of the law the French brought to Vietnam was that guilt should be
determined by fair and impartial means and should be assigned appropriate
punishment.
Marxism-Leninism added to this attitude the perspective that crime is a reflection of
environmental factors that victimize the individual by turning him into criminal. The
proper remedy for this condition is to eliminate the causal factors while rehabilitating
the criminal.
The combination of the three legacies has produced Vietnamese society a legal
philosophy that is inquisitorial rather than adversarial, seeking reform rather than
punishment. The system imposes on the individual and the State the responsibility of
bringing all members of society to a condition of self-imposed moral rectitude in
which behavior is defined in terms of collective, rather than individual good.
The People’s Public Security of Vietnam
The PPSV is the main police and security force of Vietnam. It is a part of Vietnam
People’s Armed Forces. It is under the control of Communist Party of Vietnam.
The PPSV has two branches:
The Vietnam People’s Security whose mandates are to prevent, investigate, and
defeat potential against enemies of the Vietnamese nation and that can endanger
national security; intelligence work; joining forces in internal political security,
economic security, ideology-cultural security; network security; and information
security with other uniformed bodies as established by law; manage entrance or exit
visas; helping to build personal security in every kind of life, at every area in the
country, and perform other duties, missions and responsibilities in keeping with the
law.
Vietnam People’s National Police Force, whose duties are to prevent, investigate
and solve environmental, political, traffic, functional and corruption related criminal
activities in keeping with the laws of the Socialist Republic; working with the general
public on crime prevention and in participations in its actions; perform responsibilities
and duties pertaining to identification security, public security, transport security,
road and highway safety, civil defense, and disaster preparedness and response;
and execute other duties and mission in accordance with the constitution and the
laws of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. These two forces are trained mainly at two
institutions. That is, the People’s Police Academy and the People’s Security Institute
of Vietnam.
Organizational System
- Ministry of Public Security
- Public Security Departments of provinces and municipalities
- Public Security Offices of rural districts, urban districts, towns and provincial
Cities
- Public Security Posts of communes, wards and townships
Ranking System
Higher Ranks
- General-Held by Minister of Public Security
- Colonel General-Held by Deputy Ministers of Public Security
- Lieutenant General-Held by Director Generals of General Department,
Director
- General of Ho Chi Minh. City Police Department, Director General of Hanoi
- Police Department Major General -Held by Vice Director Generals of General
Department and Directors of Department
Middle-Ranks
- Senior Colonel-Held by Chiefs of Provincial Police and Directors of
Department
- Colonel-Held by chiefs of District Police and Chiefs of Division
- Lieutenant Colonel held by Chiefs of Ward Police and Chief of Police Team
- Major
- Captain
- First Lieutenant
- Lieutenant
- Second Lieutenant
Non-Commissioned Officers
- Sergeant Major
- Sergeant
- Corporal
Enlisted Personnel
- Private First Class - Senior Constable
- Private - Constable
