Labor of love: RAID police

RAID (Research, Assistance, Intervention, Deterrence), is an elite tactical unit within the French National Police force. Founded in 1985 and led by General Control Jean-Michel FAUVERGUE, the unit operates under the authority of the National Police's Director General within the Ministry of the Interior. RAID is the central unit with the FIPN (National Police Intervention Force), a group created in 2009 that also includes "regional satellite' units: the seven GIPN, now referred to as "RAID Satellites", in France's primary urban centers (Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Strasbourg, Rennes, Bordeaux and Nice), and the BRI-BAC in Paris (Anti-Crime Brigade). RAID has the jurisdiction to operate throughout France. The unit's operational assignments include Research (locating wanted individuals), Assistance to other police units (either operational or technical), operational Intervention (interrogating dangerous individuals), and Deterrence (often situations are resolved simply by indicating that a RAID unit is on the way).

Interview with David, commander of the RAID assault group:

An elite unit

"The wide variety of missions we execute explains why such a high level is required to join the unit. Our teams are made up of professionals who have extensive experience as police officers, a fitness level far above average, know how to manage critical situations, and possess a high-level of skill in five specialties: skydiving, scuba diving, breaching, sniping (elite marksmanship), and climbing."

Does one need to be passionate about each specialty to join RAID?

"Yes, but first and foremost one must be passionate about police work in order to develop the skills required by a unit such as RAID. Joining the police force is itself a passion, since we work in a profession with a strict set of operational guidelines, often dealing with difficult and dangerous situations. Our daily routine is that there is no routine. We do not all have the same professional background, but we all had a great deal of experience before joining the unit, further supplemented after the selection process with four months of schooling and intense training.

All of us are in great shape; our missions can be physically exhausting due to the weight of our individual gear (35 kg), the duration (often a dozen hours or more), and from the concentration required. We have to remain highly focused, maintain maximum self-control; even just a slight lapse in attention is unacceptable. This profession requires commitment, precision, and the ability to react quickly.

Before being recruited, RAID members had to prove themselves in the field, either with the PJ (criminal investigation unit), the DCRI (intelligence gathering), the BAC (Anti-Crime Brigade), the CRS (riot police), or with another intervention unit. This wealth of experience provides us with technical expertise in several areas."

What does your motto, "Serve without fail," mean?

"We serve France, guaranteeing the safety of both its citizens and government. We are sometimes required to act quickly in an emergency situation, to make important decisions within a fraction of a second. We have no room for error; with our job comes too great a responsibility to fail. We have experience dealing with extremely tense crisis situations using the appropriate means and high-level technical skills honed during training."

Why a climbing group within RAID?

"The group consists of thirty operators led by an officer. Twenty-eight of them come from the assault group and two from the technical group, which allows us to gather intelligence using cameras or microphones. The climbing group intervenes in a wide variety of situations: preventing an individual from fleeing, jumping into or out of windows, or like a situation that I personally experienced when a particularly volatile individual, evacuating children through a window. The group must be able, during a hostage crisis high up in a building or when a suspect has taken fortified cover, to provide additional support to deal with a dangerous situation. We often need to find an alternative solution to entering a building, beyond breaching the typical entry points. Our solution might supplement what our colleagues are doing, or sometimes provide an alternative. Either way, we act only after having developed a thorough tactical plan."

An intervention far from the media's eye

"These are not the most publicized operations, but a holed-up suicidal individual represents a very complex situation, since we need to apprehend someone who is not only disturbing the peace, but is armed, a danger to us and themselves, high up, and we need to do it without hurting them. 

One of these missions took place on the thirteenth and last floor of a building located in a southern suburb of Paris. Firefighters are always required to be on scene when someone threatens to commit suicide. The person was in acute psychological distress and had destroyed all of the water pipes in his apartment thinking that someone was trying to poison him via the water supply. Water was everywhere in the building, another reason why both firefighters and police officers were present.

All attempts to contact the individual had failed, the man refusing to cooperate and threatening to kill anyone attempting to enter his home. Officers had no idea of what was going on inside the apartment, how many people there were, or if there were any children. RAID was called to intervene. We set up on the roof in such a way as to take advantage of the apartment's three windows. The city provided us with the building plans and the apartment layout. We studied every detail when preparing our plan.

Negotiations failed. He was far too upset and we were unable to reason with him. The front door had been barricaded and we were able to determine that he had piled several pieces of furniture behind the door. The plan was to enter via the windows in order to neutralize the individual. We had also observed a kitchen knife in his hand. Our team took advantage of a moment when the individual turned his back in order to force our way in through windows, breach the apartment, and apprehend him.

This type of situation is complex. While our goal is to keep the person from hurting themselves, we have to protect ourselves at the same time. Being in a vertical environment complicates the situation even more and limits our options. Above the void, any intervention becomes a much more physically challenging endeavor. This particular mission finished well, the man was taken into custody, handed over to the local police, and then brought to justice.

All appropriate means are used to keep this type of situation for going beyond the point of no return. Our role is to give someone another chance in spite of the dire circumstances. We need to provide the person with the opportunity to survive the situation even though they are armed."

What makes the RIG descender so special?

"The RIG descender makes our job easier, allowing us to free up both hands once we arrive at the height desired. When descending a rope, we can safely block the RIG without having to add the extra step of tying it off with a knot. Speed and time savings are crucial in our line of work. Everything happens so quickly. Every second counts."

"Our training and our technical discussions with Petzl are extremely important. Discussing our field experience during 'Petzl Solutions' training sessions allows us to identify the gear that will provide us with an extra edge."