Law enforcement in Mali
Encyclopedia
Law enforcement in Mali
is the responsibility of the national police
force (numbering about 1,000 personnel in 2004), which is subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Security and Civil Protection. The police force shares responsibility for internal security
with the paramilitary
Gendarmerie. Police responsibilities are concentrated exclusively in urban areas. Local police districts are headed by commissioners
, who report to regional directors at national police headquarters. The police force is judged to be moderately effective despite deficiencies in resources and training and the persistence of corruption.
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
is the responsibility of the national police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
force (numbering about 1,000 personnel in 2004), which is subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Security and Civil Protection. The police force shares responsibility for internal security
Internal security
Internal security, or IS, is the act of keeping peace within the borders of a sovereign state or other self-governing territories. generally by upholding the national law and defending against internal security threats...
with the paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
Gendarmerie. Police responsibilities are concentrated exclusively in urban areas. Local police districts are headed by commissioners
Police commissioner
Commissioner is a senior rank used in many police forces and may be rendered Police Commissioner or Commissioner of Police. In some organizations, the commissioner is a political appointee, and may or may not actually be a professional police officer. In these circumstances, there is often a...
, who report to regional directors at national police headquarters. The police force is judged to be moderately effective despite deficiencies in resources and training and the persistence of corruption.
Sources
- World Police Encyclopedia, ed. by Dilip K. Das & Michael Palmiotto published by Taylor & Francis. 2004,
- World Encyclopedia of Police Forces and Correctional Systems,second edition, Gale., 2006
- Sullivan, Larry E. Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2005.