French Polynesia
| Author | George Kurian |
| Pages | 409-410 |
Page 409
Official country name: Overseas Lands of French Polynesia
Capital: Papeete
Geographic description: Archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, part of Oceania
Population: 270,485 (est. 2005)
On the conquest of Polynesia by the French, a Gendarmerie was established as the principal agent of law enforcement. There have been few structural changes since then.
The Gendarmerie is a quasimilitary organization that is strictly disciplined, highly mobile, and armed and equipped for security patrol and other police duties in nonurban areas. Its basic personnel, including officers and noncommissioned officers, are recruited and trained in France, but the lower ranks are almost all native.
The basic operating unit of the Gendarmerie is the brigade, a small unit of five to fourteen men, commanded by an officer or noncommissioned officer, and stationed in one of the police districts or subdistricts. Brigades are organized into different formations for specialized duties, such as routine patrol traffic control, criminal investigation, counterintelligence, riot control, and general guard or escort assignment. About twenty-five brigades are assigned to each department.
Two or more brigades, usually but not always of mixed types, are grouped into larger units called companies. These units are responsible for security operations in territories that vary in size from one to several police districts. All companies, in turn, are subordinate to a single commander at the central headquarters at Papeete.
Besides the Gendarmerie, the mayor of Papeete is authorized to raise a local urban police force organized along the lines of the Sûreté Nationale in France. These forces are commanded by a chief of police (préfet). The police chief is trained in France, but most of the patrolmen (gardiens de la paix) are natives and are recruited and trained locally.
The incidence of crime is low in French Polynesia. As a result, the only major penitentiary in is Papeete. There are detention centers on all the major islands.
Page 410
French Polynesia observes international standards in its treatment of prisoners.
Total Prison Population: 327
Prison Population Rate per...
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