Burundi
| Author | George Kurian |
| Pages | 257-258 |
Page 257
Official country name: Republic of Burundi
Capital: Bujumbura
Geographic description: A landlocked country in central Africa
Population: 6,370,609 (est. 2005)
The earliest police force in Burundi was set up under the German occupation that began in 1896 and ended during World War I, when the Belgians took over the country. The Belgians did not create a discrete police force but used Congolese soldiers to police the country. Toward the end of their rule, the Belgians created a national police and a Gendarmerie recruited almost entirely from the Tutsis.
There are three branches engaged in law enforcement in Burundi: the National Police, which polices the major towns; the Judicial Police; and the Gendarmerie. All the branches are headquartered in Bujumbura and are headed by directors who report to the Ministry of the Interior.
The central directorate is organized into four sections: administrative, secretariat general documentation, identification, and professional training. There are field offices in all major towns and provincial offices in the sixteen provinces. The general documentation section includes bureaus of information, publicity, statistics, and central archives. The Judicial Police, created in 1967, has field offices called Mobile Judicial Police Units, each commanded by a brigade chief. They collect evidence and arrest criminals.
Rural policing is undertaken by the Gendarmerie.
Since the beginning of the ethnic conflict, many police functions have been performed by Tutsi-dominated armed paramilitary civil defense units known ironically as the Guardians of the Peace. Members of the Guardians of the Peace are unpaid and poorly trained, and some are even conscripted. Being unpaid, they live by threatening and harassing people. They also recruit children to do their work and are known to beat, rape, harass, and extort money. They are responsible for most of the street killings in the country.
Officers of the Judicial Police are recruited by the Ministry of Justice on the basis of competitive examinations. Successful candidates are admitted to the Professional Training Center for an eighteen-month training...
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