FACT CHECK: Does The World Economic Forum Have Its Own Police?

A post shared on Facebook alleges the World Economic Forum (WEF) has its own police force.

Verdict: Misleading

While the patch visible in the post is real, the WEF does not have its own police force. A Swiss police spokesperson stated the patch visible in the image was created by local law enforcement, not the WEF. 

Fact Check: 

Some 2,500 world leaders were expected to attend the WEF’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland this May, according to the organization’s website. A post shared on Facebook claims the group has established its own police force to secure the event.

The post includes two photos, one which shows a yellow patch with the words “World Economic Forum Police 2009” written on it and another that shows an officer with a similar patch on his uniform. “World Economic Forum have their own police,” reads the post’s caption.

The claim is misleading. Local Swiss police in Graubuenden canton (state), where the WEF event took place, provide security for the event, said WEF spokesperson Alem Tedeneke in an email to Check Your Fact. Tedeneke confirmed the WEF does not maintain its own force. (RELATED: Did The World Economic Forum Publish This Tweet Calling For The Internet To Be ‘Reformed’?)

“The WEF organization does not have a police force,” reiterated a Graubunden police spokesperson in an email to Check Your Fact. The spokesperson explained that the local police provide security for the WEF event and that a patch is designed for the event by the local police each year.

“The deployed security forces are identified by official uniforms, ID cards and police patches,” said the spokesperson. “The WEF police badge is an additional badge created by the emergency services themselves, which is redesigned every year.”

Some of the patches used for the event can be found on a Swiss police patches archival website. The patch visible in the Facebook photo above the WEF patch on the officer’s uniform can also be found on the Graubunden canton police website.

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