Law enforcement in Mali

Law enforcement in Mali is the responsibility of the National Police Force (Police Nationale du Mali), which is subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Security and Civil Protection.[1][2] The National Police Force shares responsibility for internal security with the Gendarmerie, a paramilitary organization; the police are responsible exclusively for urban areas, while the Gendarmerie's primary responsibility is for rural areas, though it may also reinforce the police when needed.[1][2] According to The Wall Street Journal, each organization has approximately 5,000 personnel,[3] while Interpol gives a figure of over 7,000 for the police.[4]

In October 2015, Moussa Ag Infahi replaced Hamidou Kansaye as Director General of the National Police, while Colonel-Major Satigui Dit Moro Sidibé became the new Director General of the Gendarmerie, succeeding Colonel-Major Mody Bérété.[5] Local police districts are headed by commissioners, who report to regional directors at national police headquarters.[2]

The police are poorly trained, equipped and led, and suffer from low morale.[1][3] Corruption is also a problem.[6] Following the 2013 national elections, Mali's new government made improving the police a priority and accepted the assistance of various countries and external organizations,[3][7] including Japan;[8] the United Nations Development Programme;[8] the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, through the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA);[9] and a European Union Training Mission.[3]

Mali has been a member of Interpol since 1969.[4]

Being a former French colony, Mali has a civil law system based on the French model.[10]

See also

References
  1. "Mali 2014 Crime and Safety Report". Bureau of Diplomatic Security, United States Department of State.
  2. "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011" (PDF). Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, United States Department of State.
  3. Naftali Bendavid (22 September 2014). "Mali's Police Restructuring Will Take Years". The Wall Street Journal.
  4. "Mali: La Police nationale du Mali". Interpol.
  5. "Handover ceremonies at the Gendarmerie and the National Police". EUCAP Sahel Mali. 28 October 2015.
  6. Lansana Gberie (July 2016). "Crime, Violence, and Politics: Drug Trafficking and Counternarcotics Policies in Mali and Guinea" (PDF). Brookings Institution.
  7. "EUCAP Sahel Mali: Gendarmerie". European Union External Action.
  8. "Japan and UNDP team up for the rehabilitation of Mali's National Police Academy". United Nations Development Programme. 3 March 2015.
  9. "UNODC and DPKO collaborate to strengthen law enforcement in Mali". United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
  10. "Africa:: Mali". World Factbook.
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