discipline, training, team-work, team-spirit and thorough organisation. Its Commander is accountable to the Chief of Police through the Assistant Chief of Police in charge of Support. The Emergency Response Unit, known up until recently as the Mobile Immediate Action Unit, which was a direct translation of its name in Greek, was set up in 1978 after a government decision. The Government at the time responded to an increase in terrorism in the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as to a number of incidents of terrorism that took place in Cyprus. The first commander of the unit was Costas Papacostas, a National Guard Major, who was transferred to the Police. Moreover, the first members of the unit had previous service in the Special Forces of the National Guard. Mission The primary mission of the Emergency Response Unit is the operational support of policing throughout the Republic in combating organised, violent acts or crimes such as terrorism. It is also responsible for providing protection to VIPs and suppressing riots. The secondary mission of the Emergency Response Unit is the provision of aid, services and rescue in cases of natural disasters or major accidents. The unit also supports all other police departments and divisional headquarters in carrying out their operations. Structure and organization The Emergency Response Unit is split into several branches to better handle the operations that are assigned to the Unit. Personnel Ranks and insignia Below is a table showing the Cyprus police ranks in hierarchical order along with their identification markings and insignia. Special Constable Special Constables are recruited separately from regular Constables and in accordance with Article 39 of the Police Law (N.73 (I) / 2004) they are recruited for clerical and auxiliary duties, guard duties of publicly owned buildings and facilities, VIPs and foreign missions protection and for the delivery and execution of court orders and / or any other orders. Article 41 of the Police Law (N.73 (I) / 2004) states that any Special Constable appointed under this Act, shall perform the duties assigned to him and, in the exercise of his duties, has same powers, the same privileges, the same protection and is subject to the same penalties and to the same principles as regular Constables. Special Constables are usually referred to as "Special", even in Greek, and rarely as "" (usually in more formal references) which is short for the Greek title "". The curriculum of