The GNR created in 1911, is a paramilitary security force organised into a Special Corps of Troops. In peacetime, it is dependent upon the Ministry of Internal Affairs, for the purposes of recruitment, administration and performance of duties arising from its general mission, and on the National Ministry of Defence, for the purposes of standardisation and regulation of the military doctrine, arms and equipment. The GNR’s missions are: to guarantee, within the scope of its responsibility, the maintenance of public order, within its area of jurisdiction exercised mainly through the policing of all areas in the country except for the larger cities which come under the jurisdiction of the PSP.

In addition to its Specialised, Representation, Intervention and Reserve Units, the GNR’s structure additionally comprises 20 Territorial Commands (one in each of mainland Portugal’s 18 Districts, and one each in Madeira and the Azores.

In the performance of its duties, the GNR strives to promote a policy of Proximity Policing, which is based on: