Les pouvoirs de Police du Maire

The Mayor’s Police Powers

The video reviews the mayor’s police powers as a key topic for municipal police oral-exam preparation. It emphasizes that the mayor is responsible for maintaining public order, safety, security, and public well-being in the municipality, and is the municipal police officer’s hierarchical superior.

Three Types of Police Powers

1. Administrative police powers — preventive The presenter links these powers to Article L. 221-2 of the General Code of Local Authorities (CGCT). Their purpose is to prevent disorder and protect public order through prevention and surveillance. A visible municipal-police presence can deter offences and reassure the public.

2. Special police powers These apply to particular areas of municipal regulation. The presenter recommends being ready to name at least five, such as:

   • Traffic and parking
   • Rural policing
   • Urban planning
   • Advertising
   • Dangerous dogs
   • Public establishments
   • Funerals and burial sites
   • Swimming and water sports
   • Noise, waste, and household refuse
   • Markets and fairs
   • Buildings at risk of collapse
   • Drinking-establishment licensing and mountain policing

The mayor regulates these areas through general or individual municipal orders, which may prohibit or limit certain practices.

1. Judicial police powers — repressive Their purpose is to establish offences and identify or investigate their perpetrators. The presenter states that the mayor and deputy mayors have the status of judicial police officers, citing Article 16-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The video notes that their role and expertise differ from those of judicial police officers in the National Police or National Gendarmerie.

How Preventive and Repressive Policing Can Overlap

The distinction between administrative and judicial policing can be subtle, and an intervention may shift from one to the other. For example, a municipal-police officer stationed near a school initially provides surveillance and deterrence—an administrative-police function. If the officer observes a dangerous scooter manoeuvre and issues a ticket, the response becomes repressive and falls under judicial policing.

Crime Prevention and Coordination

The mayor is presented as responsible for coordinating local crime-prevention policy, gathering relevant information, and organizing security measures.

The Local Council for Security and Crime Prevention (CLSPD) assists the mayor and is chaired by them. The presenter describes it as bringing together municipal services, police, mediators, and other participants.

The mayor may also use measures such as parental support, mediation, and public-order measures. If the mayor is absent, their police powers may be delegated to a deputy mayor or municipal councillor through an order that is regularly reviewed.

Main Takeaway

The mayor’s police powers support public order and residents’ safety and well-being. The video stresses that these powers must be exercised in a measured way that respects citizens’ rights.

For revision, remember the three categories—administrative, special, and judicial—and be ready to give examples of at least five special police powers.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Speaker: Atlas, the presenter on the Municipal Police Academy channel.
• Sources and bodies cited by the presenter: the General Code of Local Authorities (CGCT), including Article L. 221-2; the Code of Criminal Procedure, cited in the subtitles as Article 16-1; and the Local Council for Security and Crime Prevention (CLSPD).