Law enforcement in Mali is the responsibility of the National Police Force (French: Police Nationale du Mali), which is subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Security and Civil Protection.
[1][2] According to The Wall Street Journal, each organization has approximately 5,000 personnel,[3] while Interpol gives a figure of over 7,000 for the police.
[4] In October 2015, Moussa Ag Infahi replaced Hamidou Kansaye as Director General of the National Police, while Colonel-Major Satigui Dit Moro Sidibé became the new Director General of the Gendarmerie, succeeding Colonel-Major Mody Bérété.
[2] The police are poorly trained, equipped and led, and suffer from low morale.
[6] Following the 2013 national elections, Mali's new government made improving the police a priority and accepted the assistance of various countries and external organizations,[3][7] including Japan;[8] the United Nations Development Programme;[8] the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, through the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA);[9] and a European Union Training Mission.