Law enforcement in the Central African Republic

[3] The outbreak of civil war in 2012 also frustrated the ability of the police to enforce the law in outlying settlements being threatened by heavily armed militias.

[3] According to the United Nations, the force has a low public approval rating due to well-publicized acts of corruption and its perceived inability to carry out its mandate, especially in the northeastern part of the country.

[4] Reports of widespread violence and looting carried out by heavily armed militants in recent years have led to the formation of a tenth division specifically for countering banditry.

[4] This was the first civil police unit trained and equipped to paramilitary standards in the Central African Republic's history, as well as the only one allowed to reissue any weapons it confiscated.

[4] Aside from the anti-banditry component, few of the other police divisions carried firearms in 2003, reflecting the longstanding trend since independence for an unarmed, largely non-militarised force.

[4] The Central African Gendarmerie is a military component charged with maintaining internal security throughout all rural districts outside major settlements and towns.