Santebal

Santebal
សន្តិបាល
Agency overview
FormedEarly 1971
Dissolved7 January 1979
TypeSecret police
Jurisdiction Democratic Kampuchea
HeadquartersSecurity Prison 21, Phnom Penh
Minister responsible
Agency executive
Parent agencyKhmer Rouge

The Santebal (Khmer: សន្តិបាល, Sântĕbal [sɑnteɓaːl]; meaning "keeper of peace") was the secret police of the Khmer Rouge's Democratic Kampuchea (DK) regime in Cambodia.

The Santebal was in charge of internal security and running prison camps like Tuol Sleng (S-21) where thousands of people were imprisoned, interrogated, tortured and executed. It was part of the Khmer Rouge organizational structure well before the Fall of Phnom Penh on 17 April 1975. Its name is an amalgam of two words: sântĕsŏkh (សន្ដិសុខ [sɑntesok]) meaning "security" and nôkôrôbal (នគរ​បាល [nɔkɔːɓaːl]) meaning "police".