Job profile: how to join the Gendarmerie's PSIG?

The National Gendarmerie Surveillance and Intervention Squads, better known by the acronym PSIG, specialize in fighting street crime. Each departmental gendarmerie company includes a PSIG.

Summary:

• Uniform and equipment
• Missions
• Selection
• Training
• Career advancement opportunities
• Salary

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The daily missions of a PSIG officer are multiple. These trained military personnel in excellent physical condition regularly intervene at night, in sensitive areas or in critical situations. PSIG officers can even intervene, since February 2016, in terrorist attacks, provided they are part of a SABRE-classified PSIG.

The main missions of a PSIG officer are:

• General surveillance

• Emergency intervention

• Fighting street crime

• Home arrests

• Judicial transfer

Daily, a PSIG officer conducts patrols, both day and night. They intervene during gatherings and help maintain public order. More rarely, they assist territorial brigades in their crime-fighting missions and judicial brigades for the arrest or transfer of dangerous individuals. A large part of their day is also occupied by writing mission reports. When not on intervention, the PSIG officer maintains their physical condition or knowledge through training and instruction.

Recruitment to join PSIG is done internally on a voluntary basis. You must already be a gendarme to hope to join this unit. The majority of men and women who join PSIG are career non-commissioned officers or volunteer assistant gendarmes (GAV). Gendarmerie non-commissioned officers can also join PSIG directly after graduating from school. There are approximately 380 PSIGs distributed throughout France, including 150 "Sabre" PSIGs authorized to intervene in terrorist attack situations. Each Gendarmerie Surveillance and Intervention Squad has between 10 and 40 personnel.

The main selection criteria obviously include physical condition, age, professional skills, as well as aptitude for intervention missions since these are at the heart of the PSIG officer profession.

The training of National Gendarmerie Surveillance and Intervention Squad officers is "field"-oriented. Officers receive intensive physical training and improve their professional skills in intervention matters: subduing adversaries with or without weapons, shooting, combat sports, arrest ethics, or weapon mastery: telescopic baton, rubber bullet launcher (LBD), electric pulse pistol (Taser), disengagement grenade (DMP), tear gas, etc.

A PSIG officer is first and foremost a gendarme. They can therefore logically, if they are a GAV or non-commissioned officer, apply for the internal officer competition. They can also put themselves "up for promotion" and thus advance in rank. They can also decide to reorient themselves by changing services or corps through an internal competition.

As in all National Gendarmerie specialties, the salary (or rather the "pay") depends on an index scale that takes into account, for example, the level, rank, corps affiliation, or family situation. A PSIG officer can sometimes receive bonuses and allowances.