nal Guard is responsible directly to the king. They often assist the police in maintaining internal order. The regular army may also be called in to assist the police as needed.
Thus, the role of the police is a limited one. Another factor adding to this is the tribal makeup of Saudi Arabia. Tribal leaders often retain local control over security matters within their tribes, and the police would not be brought in to maintain order. If outside forces were needed, the National Guard would be utilized.
. . . in the settled village and towns as
well as among the nomads, a public security
organization exists within the kin group or
local community itself, involving a network
of social sanctions against crime and of
authority for the settlement of disputes . . .
The National Police functions mainly in the large municipalities and frontier districts. "Although the Directorate General of Public Security in the Ministry of Interior nominally has nationwide responsibility for the National Police, in practice the regional emirs have considerable
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