Burkina Faso

AuthorGeorge Kurian
Pages253

Page 253

Official country name: Burkina Faso

Capital: Ouagadougou

Geographic description: A landlocked country in West Africa

Population: 13,925,313 (est. 2005)

Burkina Faso
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Structure and Organization

The security apparatus consists of the Gendarmerie, which is controlled by the Ministry of Defense; the National Police, which is controlled by the Ministry of Security; and the municipal police, which is controlled by the Ministry of Territorial Administration. The Presidential Guard is an autonomous security force.

CRIME
Crime Statistics

Offenses reported to the police per 100,000 population: 9. Of which:

Murder: 0.4

Assault: 1.7

CORRECTIONAL SYSTEM
Prison Conditions

Prison conditions are harsh. The prison diet is poor and inmates have to rely on the kindness of relatives. There are separate facilities for men, women, and children, but these facilities are typically crowded, with common rooms rather than individual cells.

Prison Statistics

The prison administration is under a director who reports to the Ministry of Justice. There are eleven prisons in the country with an official capacity of 1,650 and a prison population of 2,800. Per 100,000 population, the prison population rate is 23. Of all inmates, 58.3% are pretrial detainees, 1% are women, and 2.4% are juveniles. The largest prison at Bobo-Dioulasso, built in 1947, houses over 1,000 prisoners, even though it is designed to hold half that number.

George Thomas Kurian

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