The Altai Police was formed by decree in 1782. In May 1785, the head of police was Ivan Tersky, who led the policing reform in 1785–1787. In those years, a mountain battalion of the Barnaul Police was formed. Until 1919, the Barnaul Police was the central law enforcement in Altai Krai. In 1919, the Czarist police was renamed the People's and Workers' Militia. In 1920, the police was a part of the local
NKVD and they took part in the
repression of dissidents. During the second half of 1937, 13,534 people were arrested, with 7,437 of them sentenced to death by shooting. After
World War II and during the
Cold War, the police suffered extensive cuts and major reforms. In 1991, the Ministry for Internal Affairs of Altai was established as the main policing body, with Felix Trotsenko as its first minister. After a few years, the Ministry become Main Directorate. In 1992, the Directorate against Organized Crime (GUBOP) was created to deal with this growing problem. Under the new ministry were formed the police special forces: Special unit for rapid reaction (SOBR), and the
OMON units in Barnaul and
Biisk. Since September 2005, the headmaster of the police is Lieutenant-General Alexander Oldak. The police is divided into 72 regional and municipal departments. In 2006, the aviation detachment for special purposes was formed, having armed with
Mi-8AMT. The police car fleet was only updated in 2007, at the expense of regional and federal budgets, with the police purchasing more than 100 cars and buses. On 13 May 2013, Alexander Laas was appointed by the Federal Minister for Internal Affairs as the new head of the Altai Krai Police. ==Structure==