Gabon
| Author | George Kurian |
| Pages | 411 |
Page 411
Official country name: Gabonese Republic
Capital: Libreville
Geographic description: Central African country on the equator bordering the Atlantic Ocean
Population: 1,389,201 (est. 2005)
Organized along French lines, the police forces of Gabon comprise the National Police and the paramilitary Gendarmerie. The National Police is commanded by a high commissioner and the Gendarmerie by a commander in chief. The former has two operational units: the National Security Police (Sûreté Nationale) and the Judiciary Police.
The Gendarmerie consists of three brigades subdivided into companies: the Mouanda Company in the east, the Libreville, Makokou, and Oyem companies in the north, and the Lambarene, Moula, Port-Gentil, and Tchibanga companies in the south. Gendarmes are trained at the Gendarmerie School in Owendo.
Total Police Personnel: 1,030
Population per Police Officer: 1,349
Offenses reported to the police per 100,000 population: 114. Of which:
Murder: 1.4
Assault: 17.9
Burglary: 2.3
Automobile Theft: 7.5
The nation's thirty-two prisons and detention centers are run by the Prison Administration in Libreville.
Conditions in most prisons are harsh. Sanitation and medical care are nonexistent. Food is inadequate and is supplemented by supplies from relatives. Women are held separately from men, juveniles from adults, and pretrial detainees from convicted prisoners.
George Thomas Kurian
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