The principle law enforcement agency in Burundi is the National Police of Burundi (French : Police nationale du Burundi, PNB). The police falls within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public Security. [1] It is separate from the National Intelligence Service (SNR), the state intelligence agency.
Under Belgian colonial rule (1916–62), law enforcement in Burundi was the responsibility of a small unit of the Force Publique which was a gendarmerie with a combined military function from the Belgian Congo. Its members were popularly known as Bamina in Burundi, after the large military base at Kamina in the Congo. [2]
Law enforcement fell under the mandate of the newly created National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie nationale) after Burundian independence in 1962. Although initially civilian-led, this became part of the army under the military dictatorships after 1967. A separate civilian police force was re-established in 1990 as the Public Security Police (Police de sécurité publique) which co-existed with the Gendarmerie. [2]
The PNB was founded in December 2004, following the end of the Burundian Civil War and the Arusha Accords. Its stated objectives are the maintenance of public order, the protection of the population, and the fight against organised crime. [3] Its objective was to provide a single, integrated police force under the leadership of a single Directorate-General (Direction générale), replacing the previous system of administrative fragmentation. [2] The PNB is divided into missions, dealing with separate areas as well as five regional commissariats. The different services in 2014 were: [3]
Most of Burundi's police force is concentrated in Bujumbura, the de facto capital city, and other major urban centres. [1] The PNB members are armed, often with "Kalashnikov-type assault rifles". [1]
Burundi has been a member of INTERPOL since 1970. [4] Burundian police have been deployed abroad as part of United Nations (UN) operations in Africa. [5]
Corruption is a major problem for the PNB. According to a 2014 survey by Afrobarometer, the PNB is widely considered the most corrupt of Burundi's public services. [1] Transparency International reported that over 80 percent of Burundians believed that there was corruption within the police service in 2014. [3] The Burundian government has tried to resolve the corruption problem with the aid of foreign assistance from countries including the Netherlands. [3] Although little effective citizen oversight exists, there is theoretically a police ombudsman and attorney general, both tasked with dealing with complaints against police. [6] According to the US Department of State, the Burundian National Police "is comprised largely of former rebel fighters, lacks accountability and has minimal capacity to respond to crises and investigate crimes in a just manner in accordance with human rights". [7] However, 2014 polling also indicated that 54–83 percent of Burundians had "confidence" in the PNB and approximately 65 percent of the population claim to respect the PNB and believed it is disciplined. [1]
The PNB was frequently used to suppress anti-government protests during the popular unrest in Burundi in 2015. Police violence against protesters, both in the form of beatings and shootings, was particularly criticised by Human Rights Watch. [8] As a response, in 2016, the UN decided to repatriate 280 Burundian police from the MINUSCA mission in the Central African Republic because of accusations that its personnel had committed atrocities in Burundi before their departure. [5] Burundi also refused an offer by the UN Security Council to deploy 288 UN police officers to Burundi in August 2016. [9] Further abuses continued into 2018.
The BurundiNational Defence Force is the state military organisation responsible for the defence of Burundi.
A gendarmerie is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term gendarme is derived from the medieval French expression gens d'armes, which translates to "men-at-arms", or "rural police". In France and some Francophone nations, the gendarmerie is a branch of the armed forces that is responsible for internal security in parts of the territory, with additional duties as military police for the armed forces. It was introduced to several other Western European countries during the Napoleonic conquests. In the mid-twentieth century, a number of former French mandates and colonial possessions adopted a gendarmerie after independence. A similar concept exists in Eastern Europe in the form of Internal Troops, which are present in many countries of the former Soviet Union and its former allied countries.
The National Police, formerly known as the Sûreté nationale, is one of two national police forces of France, the other being the National Gendarmerie. The National Police is the country's main civil law enforcement agency, with primary jurisdiction in cities and large towns. By contrast, the National Gendarmerie has primary jurisdiction in smaller towns, as well as in rural and border areas. The National Police comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior and has about 145,200 employees. Young French citizens can fulfill their mandatory service in the police force.
A security agency is a governmental organization that conducts intelligence activities for the internal security of a nation. They are the domestic cousins of foreign intelligence agencies, and typically conduct counterintelligence to thwart other countries' foreign intelligence efforts.
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The National Gendarmerie is one of two national law enforcement forces of France, along with the National Police. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior, with additional duties from the Ministry of Armed Forces. Its responsibilities include policing smaller towns, suburbs and rural areas, along with special subdivisions like the GSPR. By contrast, the National Police is a civilian law enforcement agency that is in charge of policing cities and larger towns. Because of its military status, the Gendarmerie also fulfills a range of military and defence missions, including having a cybercrime division. The Gendarmerie has a strength of around 102,269 people.
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The National Police is the national civilian police force of Niger. The National Police are under the Ministry of Interior, Public Safety and Decentralization and report to the General Directorate of National Police. They are responsible for law enforcement in urban areas, the protection of government buildings and institutions, and the security of government leaders. Niger's gendarmerie, the Gendarmerie Nationale, is a separate agency under the Niger Armed Forces, and are responsible for policing in rural areas.
Prostitution in Burundi is illegal but is commonplace and on the rise. Prostitution is prevalent in all areas of the country, and especially in the largest city, Bujumbura, and prior to the security crisis in 2015, the tourist areas around Lake Tanganyika. UNAIDS estimate there are 51,000 prostitutes in Burundi. Many women have turned to prostitution due to poverty.
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The National Intelligence Service is the state intelligence agency of Burundi. The SNR is headed by an administrator-general who reports directly to the President of Burundi, while its individual agents report both to the SNR hierarchy and the public prosecutor. It runs its own detention facilities and is separate from the National Police of Burundi and the National Defence Force.