Cameroon
| Author | George Kurian |
| Pages | 261-263 |
Page 261
Official country name: Republic of Cameroon
Capital: Douala
Geographic description: Country in central west Africa bordering on the Bight of Biafra where the coast curves into west Africa
Population: 16,988,132 (est. 2005)
Cameroon's law enforcement traditions are derived from three colonial masters: the Germans (1884–1916), the French (1916–1945), and the British (1945–1961). The French police traditions have prevailed and remain strong. The General Delegate for National Security (GDSN; the national police) and the National Gendarmerie are primarily responsible for law enforcement. The Gendarmerie was officially established in 1960 by transferring members of the French Guard and the Cameroonian Guard preindependence security forces. Members of the Old Civic Guard in the Bamileke area were also brought into the new national force. The total Gendarmerie strength of 3,000 included mobile gendarmes. The organizational structure and command hierarchy of the Gendarmerie were similar to those of the armed forces, and its officers were, in effect, military officers assigned to internal security duties. By 1965, all command and supervisory posts in the Gendarmerie were held by Cameroonians, and French personnel were withdrawn. In 1966 the Republican Guard was created to protect the presidential palace and as an honor guard for state occasions.
The prison system is administered by the director of the Penitentiary Administration under the Ministry of Justice. The country is divided into a number of districts, each containing general police stations (or commissariats), regional judicial police units, and frontier posts. The judicial police units are concerned with investigating serious crimes. Each province has one legion of gendarmerie, called the Provincial Gendarmerie. In addition, the Operational Command of the internal security forces maintains a special prison at Kosovo.
The National Gendarmerie's responsibilities include highway patrolling and traffic control and investigation and surveillance of suspects...
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