The Gambia Constabulary, also known as the Gambia Police, was the colonial police force of

The Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

, in existence from 1866 to 1965. The constabulary has been described as

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

, and the colonial authorities themselves described it as "semi-military". The constabulary for a period also had responsibility for

firefighting Firefighting is a profession aimed at controlling and extinguishing fire. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter or fireman. Firefighters typically undergo a high degree of technical training. This involves structural fir ...

during the colonial reign.

History

The first police force in The Gambia was the Gambia River Police, formed in 1855. Prior to this, security in the small colonial enclaves was provided by British troops and a small local

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

, drawn from traders, freed slaves, and other settlers. The River Police's role was to control smuggling, enforce taxation, and prevent insurgencies. Its 10 men were aided by the local militia, and were further reinforced in 1866 by the establishment of the

Gambia Constabulary. Initially formed with 40 constables, this was increased to 100 in 1870. At this point, all imperial troops were withdrawn from the colony and policing was left to the Constabulary and local militia. In February 1895, a complementary police force, the Gambia Frontier Police, was formed. In November that year, they became very riotous and assaulted members of the Constabulary. A civilian was shot dead by them while he was at his morning prayers. The police then entered Bathurst with loaded rifles, causing great alarm among the populace. The citizens proceeded to approach the Administrator en masse to demand their expulsion. The authorities relented and the force was shipped abroad before being disbanded in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

. The establishment of the

West African Frontier Force The West African Frontier Force (WAFF) was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia. In 1928, it received royal recognit ...

in 1900 led to the creation of the Gambia Company in 1901, which also aided in maintaining the colony's security. In the Protectorate, security was the responsibility of the district chief. In 1909, the British issued an ordinance granting the chiefs to appoint 'badge messengers', who were allowed to keep the peace and had all the same authority of the colony police. Francis has noted how "Although Gambians staffed the lower level of the force, to the local population, the police and security services, limited as they were, represented an essentially foreign presence."

Organisation

In 1905, the constabulary was headed by a

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Building superintendent, a manager, maintenance or repair person, custodian or janitor, especially in the United States; sometimes shortened to "super" *Prison warden or superintendent, a prison administrator *Soprin ...

who was assisted by an

Assistant Superintendent Assistant superintendent, or assistant superintendent of police (ASP), is a rank that was used by police forces in the British Empire and is still used in many police forces in the Commonwealth. It was usually the lowest rank that could be held ...

. Under them were 80 non-commissioned officers, 68 of whom were posted in Bathurst and the other 12 were posted across the Protectorate. The constabulary also had a band, trained by a European bandmaster. Karbin Martini-Enfield

Equipment

As part of their firefighting responsibilities, the constabulary had a 30-man Merryweather manual

fire engine A fire engine or fire truck (also spelled firetruck) is a vehicle, usually a specially designed or modified truck, that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to ...

. In 1905, the constabulary was equipped with

Martini–Enfield Martini–Enfield rifles were, by and large, conversions of the .577/450 Martini–Henry rifle, rechambered for use with the newly introduced .303 British cartridge. Whilst most Martini–Enfields were converted rifles, a number were newly manuf ...

carbines, and had three seven-pounder RML guns.

References

{{Reflist Law enforcement in the Gambia