Editing Riot control (section)

==History==
[[File:Place de la Concorde 6 février 1934.jpg|thumb|GRM horse platoon and rioteers Paris - Place de la Concorde - 1934]]
Maintaining order during demonstrations and quenching riots has always been a challenge for governments and administrations. Until early in the 20th century, no dedicated force really existed in most countries and the traditional response when the regular police force proved inadequate was to call upon the army, often with disastrous results: either [[fraternization]] or use of excessive violence.

The terminology arguably first arises in the [[Keystone Cops]] short "[[A Hash House Fraud]]" in 1915.<ref>A Hash House Haul 1915</ref>

In France, for example, several revolts were fueled by poor handling by the military. The [[National Gendarmerie]] created specialized "mobile" gendarmerie forces several times during the 19th century in times of trouble but these units were disbanded soon after the end of the troubles they had been tasked to handle and there was no permanent organization in place until it was finally decided in 1921 to create "Mobile Gendarmerie platoons" within the [[Departmental Gendarmerie]]. These platoons, either horse mounted or on foot were composed of 40 gendarmes each (60 in the Paris Region). In 1926, the platoons formed the "Garde Républicaine mobile" (mobile republican guard or GRM), which became a distinct branch of the Gendarmerie in 1927, the platoons becoming part of companies and legions. By 1940, the GRM was a force 21,000 strong, composed of 14 Légions, 54 company groups and 167 companies.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Histoire de la Maréchaussée et de la Gendarmerie. Guide de recherche | trans-title = History of the National Gendarmerie and the Gendarmerie | language = fr | first = Bernard | last = Gainot | journal = Annales historiques de la Révolution française | date = October–December 2005 | volume = 342 | issue = 342 | pages = 253–255 | doi = 10.4000/ahrf.1961 | doi-access = free }}</ref>

Long the only large force specialized in maintaining or restoring law and order in France during demonstrations or riots, the GRM progressively developed the doctrine and skills needed in that role: exercise restraint, avoid confrontation as long as possible, always leave an "exit door" for the crowd, etc.<ref>{{cite book | title = Maintenir l'Ordre: Les transformations de la violence d'Etat en régime démocratique | language = fr | trans-title = Maintaining Order: The Transformations of State Violence into a Democratic System | first = Patrick | last = Bruneteaux | publisher = Presses de Sciences Po | location = Paris | year = 1996 | isbn = 978-2724606768}}</ref> In 1940, after the fall of France, the German authorities had the GRM disbanded but it was reinstated in 1944 and renamed [[Mobile Gendarmerie]] in 1954.<ref>{{cite book | title = Histoire de la Gendarmerie mobile d'Île-de-France | language = fr | trans-title = History of the Île-de-France Mobile Gendarmerie | date = 24 November 2006 | publisher = Spe Barthelemy Eds}}</ref>

[[File:Shanghai 1928 Bund Cenotaph.jpeg|thumb|left|250px|[[The Bund|The centre]] of the [[Shanghai International Settlement|International Settlement]] of [[Shanghai]], 1928.]]
The first squad trained in modern techniques of riot control in Asia was formed in 1925 in [[Shanghai International Settlement|colonial]] [[Shanghai]] as a response to the mismanaged riot of the [[May Thirtieth Movement]].

New policing methods, including [[combat pistol shooting]], [[hand to hand combat]] skills, and [[knife fight]] training, were pioneered by British Assistant Commissioner [[William E. Fairbairn]] and officer [[Eric A. Sykes|Eric Anthony Sykes]] of the [[Shanghai Municipal Police]] as a response to a staggering rise in armed crime in the {{nowrap|1920s{{hsp}}{{mdash}}}}{{hsp}}[[Shanghai]] had become one of the world's most dangerous cities due to a breakdown in law and order in the country and the growth of [[Triad (underground society)|organised crime]] and the [[opium trade]].

Under Fairbairn, the SMP developed a myriad of riot control measures. These riot control techniques led to the introduction of Shanghai's "Reserve Unit", used to forcibly disband riots and respond to high-level crimes such as [[kidnapping]]s and [[armed robbery|armed robberies]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://e23.sjgames.com/media/SJG37-1641_preview.pdf|title=GURPS Martial Arts: Fairbairn Close Combat Training |first=Hans-Christian | last = Vortisch | editor-first = Phil | editor-last = Masters | publisher = Steve Jackson Games | date = 10 January 2008}}</ref> The skills developed in Shanghai have been adopted and adapted by both international police forces and clandestine warfare units. Fairbairn was again the central figure, not only leading the Reserve Unit, but teaching his methods around the world, including in the [[United States]], and colonial [[British Cyprus|Cyprus]] and the [[Straits Settlements]].