On 17 December 1919, the Estonian Constituent Assembly passed the Police Act.

A field police was established, which was tasked with protecting public safety and order.

Criminal police was established on 5 January 1920, and the Estonian Internal Security Service on 12 April 1920.

On 1 December 1924, there was a failed coup d'état attempt by the Soviets, in which five policemen were killed.

The composition of staff was put in order, police reserves were enlarged, number of transportation vehicles was increased, more modern guns were taken into service and communication options were improved.

[4] The Estonian Police was officially re-established within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior on 1 March 1991.

The re-established institution consisted of four main services: field-, traffic-, criminal-, and investigative police.

Furthermore, crime was rising daily and in August 1991, the police had to face the threat of a coup d'état.

[2] The Estonian Police received a lot of foreign help during its formative years.

On 10 November 2001, Estonia signed a cooperation agreement with Europol and in 2005 became its full member.