Like many other countries with a French colonial heritage, law enforcement in Burkina Faso is a responsibility primarily shared by the gendarmerie and the

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to ...

, like

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and several other countries, draws a separation between administrative policing and judicial policing. The former deals with the general maintenance of law and order. The latter relates to

criminal investigation Criminal investigation is an applied science that involves the study of facts that are then used to inform criminal trials. A complete criminal investigation can include searching, interviews, interrogations, evidence collection and preservat ...

s. Following the introduction of the 2003 law on

public security Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensur ...

, Burkina Faso has since 2005 adopted a community policing approach. This applies to police and the gendarmerie. France continues to provide significant training assistance.

Police

National Police

The National Police, or Police nationale du Burkina Faso, is responsible for the maintaining public peace, supporting the security of the State and institutions, protecting people and property, collecting information on behalf of the government, and maintaining links with foreign law enforcement bodies. The national police is accountable to the Minister of administration, decentralization and security.Interpol: Burkina Faso The national police has both

administrative Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, administ ...

and

judicial The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

police powers. Unlike Commonwealth countries or the USA, individual officers may not all hold judicial powers. They thus may only be empowered to temporarily detain suspects, but not formally arrest them.

Municipal Police

The municipal police, or Police municipale, are forces which answer directly to the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of a town. They generally enforce law and order (''police administrative'') but do not have investigative powers (''police judiciaire''). The municipal police is a recent addition to the security forces. A municipal police had first been created in 1977, but was abolished 1 January 1984 in the early days of the Thomas Sankara revolution. The existence of the new municipal police stems from the administrative decentralization laws of 3 and 6 August 1998. Each of the 345 communes in Burkina Faso may choose to organize a municipal police. As of 2009, 22 communes employing a total of complement of 760 ''agents'' had done so. While they are not accountable to the same organisations, the municipal police entertains close links with the national police, mainly as the national police provides all training and administrative and managerial support, and that they often are called to operate in proximity to each other. The municipal police works infrequently with the Gendarmerie and other security forces.

Gendarmerie

The Gendarmerie Nationale has a dual purpose. It acts as both a military force and a police force. It answers to the Minister of Defense. The gendarmerie is primarily stationed in rural and border areas. As a police force, it performs judicial and administrative policing, similarly to the national police.

Other forces

Presidential Guards

Established in 1995 by President

Blaise Compaoré Blaise Compaoré (born 3 February 1951)''Profiles of People in Power: The World's Government Leaders'' (2003), page 76–77.

, the Régiment de la sécurité présidentielle provides security to the president. Because the unit answers directly to the president's Chief of Staff, it is unaccountable to the minister of defense.

Prison guards

Prison guards answer to the Minister of Justice. It is worth noting that they detain both

civilian Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not " combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant ...

and

military prison A military prison is a prison operated by a military. Military prisons are used variously to house prisoners of war, unlawful combatants, those whose freedom is deemed a national security risk by the military or national authorities, and members ...

ers.

Customs

The Customs service falls under the authority of the Minister of Finance.

Sources

# World Police Encyclopedia, ed. by Dilip K. Das & Michael Palmiotto published by Taylor & Francis. 2004, p. 137-141

. # World Encyclopedia of Police Forces and Correctional Systems,second edition, 2006 by Gale. # Sullivan, Larry E. Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Law Enforcement In Burkina Faso Law enforcement in Burkina Faso, Law of Burkina Faso