Police officers from Ghana sit together at a workshop and give a thumbs up. © GIZ/Philipp Niehenke

Supporting police work in Africa

Programme to Build and Strengthen the Police Structures in Selected Partner Countries in Africa

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  • Client

    German Federal Foreign Office

  • Co-financier

    European Union (only for the Gambia country measure)

  • Country
  • Political sponsors

    More

  • Runtime

    2023 to 2026

  • Products and expertise

    Security, reconstruction, peace

Three police representatives sit at conference tables at an event.
GIZ/AU

Context

In some African countries, the police face difficulties to fully protect their citizens from security threats. As a result, crime rates are high, women and children often experience violence, and there is little trust in the police.

The situation is due to inadequate police stations and equipment, police officers who have not been sufficiently trained for their role, and work processes that are not fully standardised and adapted to international standards. The police and judiciary need to cooperate better, the police must be more present in rural areas and work together more closely regionally in order to curb transnational organised crime.

Objective

The governments of Côte d'Ivoire, The Gambia and Kenya are better able to contribute to national, regional and international security. They can thus reduce violence, serious crime and transnational organised crime based on an efficient approach and the rule of law.

A police station in The Gambia.
GIZ/The Gambia

Approach

The programme has been supporting police reforms in Africa since 2009. It has worked together with 27 national and regional partners such as the Economic Community of West African States.

Since the beginning, the programme has supported the police authorities of the African Union (AU) and, since 2017, it has also been supporting the AU Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL) with internal organisation and transnational cooperation.

Furthermore, the programme is continuing its long-standing collaboration with Côte d'Ivoire to operate an accredited forensic laboratory. It thus supports criminal prosecution based on physical evidence.

The programme has been working with the police authorities in Kenya and The Gambia since 2019 and focuses primarily on curbing sexual and gender-based violence and protecting victims. This includes organising staff training courses, for example.

In The Gambia, the European Union has been providing additional funding since 2021 to rebuild and remodel police stations in line with international human rights standards.

Last updated: May 2024

Additional information